Déjà vu
by VoucherMono
Summary: The world had certainly changed, and yet was eerily similar at the same instant. Will this path end differently, or will Hidan be doomed to repeat these events indefinitely? Somewhat AU.
1. Prolog: Past and Present

Déjà vu

Summary: The world had certainly changed, and yet was eerily similar at the same instant. Will this path end differently, or will Hidan be doomed to repeat these events indefinitely? Somewhat AU.

Warnings: Language, some violence, perhaps slight sexual themes, maybe at the very end slight yaoi, reincarnated characters.

Authors Note: I've been writing this on and off for a while now. It's only been read by me; unfortunately I don't have a beta. If anyone's willing throw me a line. I'd be more than happy to have you.

I've noticed my chapters are rather short; however, some will be longer than others. It all depends on how long I think I can drag something out, yet still be interesting. So, I'd rather you didn't judge on length. (Haha, it's the motion of the ocean that counts.) I have quite a few of the chapters written, but before I go on any further I want to see if it has any buzz. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading.

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**Prolog**: Past and Present 

It's painful, watching them. I feel as though I should know who they are, and yet, I don't. I see their movements through different eyes, studying them, comparing them to another person.

"I know who you are, but I can't remember you," I murmur to myself.

What a horrid feeling this is. To see almost simultaneously how they will react. I hear their words echoing, nearly matching up exactly with thoughts spoken long ago in the past, in a different life.

The more I am with them, the more frustrating this becomes. They look at me queerly, accusingly, pitifully. They glare when I confuse their names, tilt their heads curiously when I know information they've never given, and avoid me when my explanations border on madness.

Perhaps they are right. Maybe I am completely crazy. Everywhere I turn, shadows arise, a glimpse into the world that ended many years past. Haunting me, staring after me, pushing me down a path I feel I've traveled before but have forgotten.

My mind is in limbo as they walk towards me, each step they take is perfectly timed in unison. How similar they are yet somehow completely different, as if the mold that made the first cracked and allowed the second to turn out slightly different.

The one to the left I do not know, he is the stranger. The other I have memorized down to the last stitch on his black and red cloak. However, those shocking green eyes that both possess look identical; like pieces of jade cut from the same stone.

They stop together, not a moment off. I look at each and my eyes fall onto the man on the right. I should know who he is, but his name eludes me.

"I know who you are, but I can't remember you."

There is a pause. The man on the left blinks slowly, he is confused, but does not speak to me. Oddly enough, I feel disappointed in him, he has let me down but I can't fathom why.

"You will." The man on the right replies.

What kind of fucking response is that?


	2. Chapter 1: The Pit

**Chapter 1**: The Pit

The night was at the pinnacle of its magnificence. The moon had swelled completely, reflecting its stolen light, reaching its hand down to the earth below. Casting a slivery glow upon everything it touched. Caressing and lulling the sun's children to sleep, while waking and guiding its own.

The nocturnal creature's evenings were in full swing. They only had a few hours left of the spectacular beauty, but they would enjoy every minute. Pitied was the creature that could not experience the moon's pale splendor. For a few of the animals could hear the disembodied voice calling faintly yet fiercely from beneath the rocks. They could make out the muffled call, but none would go near.

The creatures of the forest of Nara knew all too well were their loyalties laid. They had been given the task of watching, and watch they would. They pitied the sad creature that lay buried, but they would do nothing for its cries.

Hidan was furious. He'd been calling for some time now, but he was unsure exactly how long. The boulders surrounding him seemed to stop the very flow of time. Unable to see the sun or moon time keeping was just as impossible as escaping. The rocks made an inescapable and horridly baffling prison all at once.

Hidan wasn't sure who he hated more at the moment. Perhaps it was the Nara boy, the one who had successfully blown him to pieces and buried him down here. He hated the air the boy had possessed while taking about that damn "Will of Fire". Hidan had known the people of Konohagakure were heathens, despite what Leader had said this "Will of Fire" was blasphemous.

Or maybe it was his partner Kakuzu to whom he hated. After what felt like hours and hours of calling his name, Kakuzu had not shown up. The bastard had left him down here to rot in this makeshift tomb. If not them, who else could he direct his loathing towards?

Their faces danced in his mind, taunting him. The boy's cool confidence as he let loose the cascade to crushing jagged rocks. Kakuzu's ever watchful eyes, staring after him as his legs were forced into motion.

Hidan had seen that look too many times before; it was a look of annoyance and dread. Kakuzu had always complained that he was the one who had to clean up after Hidan, he was the one who had to mend Hidan when he made a mistake, and now when Hidan needed the bastard the most he was absent.

The faces kept dancing and replaying over and over. It was maddening watching the spectral images of the past whirling round and round. And it was then Hidan was reminded of a phrase Kakuzu had once spoken to him. '_If you do not learn from your mistakes Hidan, you are doomed to repeat them._'

This memory only aggravated Hidan further. What mistakes? He'd only been following the guidelines of his religion, to destroy completely. He'd ended up down here because of the Nara boy; it was that kid's fault he was down here. He'd only been trying to fulfill his God's dogma, how could that be a mistake?

This confused Hidan, but not for too terribly long. Since the physical world had failed him and his partner had betrayed him Hidan turned to his savior, Jashin. The cries for liberation no longer fell from his lips; he called to his God mentally in the form of prayer.

Hidan prayed fervently and silently, trying to direct his thoughts to his Lord. He could not make a sacrifice to Jashin too gain his attention, so he would simply have to show his utmost devotion through extensive prayer.

So he lay in the damp and the dark, unable to tell up from down, day from night. Ever so slowly, he broke from his praying. An epiphany had come to him, although this sudden realization would not prove useful towards freeing himself. Hidan knew who he loathed more than the Nara brat and his partner. This question had been bothering him for sometime and he now knew the answer. It was this pit.

True, some might argue and say the pit was not a person, it had no personality, and therefore could not be a who, but to Hidan it was. Most certainly The Pit had a personality.

It was cold; no heat from the surface could break its chilled grasp. It was controlling; not allowing its most prized possession to escape. It was also taunting; for he knew very well that freedom lay only a dozen or so feet above him, but it was beyond his reach. Hidan hated The Pit; he hated his prison.

Being immortal meant having unlimited time, and for countless years The Pit not only became Hidan's prison, but his only world. Gradually, he began to forget about the upper world. He failed to recall the realm above that he had taken for such granted. Concepts such a sunlight and color became foreign ideas, as did many sounds and feelings. Even people became distant glimpses from a different life. His memory was failing him at a slow maddening rate.

He simply could not recall who he'd been calling too. There was a vague air of importance to it, but no name came. He couldn't even remember his own name any more. Shallow images flashed through his mind, brief and without substance leaving him with hardly any grip on the life before The Pit. Had there even been a time before this?

His world was the dark and damp, nothing else seemed to exist. Soon the flashes of the presumed past dimmed and were nearly forgotten, cooled to a tiny lifeless ember in the recesses of his deprived mind. The darkness became the past, present, and future. There was nothing else except The Pit. He was quite sure of it.


	3. Chapter 2: Progression

**Chapter 2**: Progression

Beneath the swaying green canopy a creature stood. Tawny ears swiveling nervously, it gingerly steeped over the crunchy foliage. The tiny hoofed feet barely made an indent, as it tread over the forest floor.

The deer paused a moment, and lifted its nose to catch a far off scent. Today seemed like a perfectly customary day. Certain nothing had changed too drastically overnight. The ancient trees still stood, just as they had for the past few centuries. Guarding the woodland, and creating a living barrier between the shrinking forest and the vast concrete jungle.

Suddenly, a loud shrieking came, cutting into the serene atmosphere. With the flick of its tail, the deer turned and fled from the horrid noise; disappearing into the safety of the forest. The frightened animal never once noticed that it was being watched.

Dozens of feet away, a pair of binoculars lowered; its point of interest lost. The owner of the binoculars carefully placed them away into his back pocket. This forest was renowned for its large population of deer; however the time for nature watching had passed now that the saws had started up again. The screeching signaled the start of the third week of construction.

An old family had owned the land a long time ago; according to legend, the family's ancestors had herded deer and used the deer's antlers for medicinal needs; to heal the wounds of ninja. However, those were merely folktales passed down from generation to generation; time exaggerates the truth.

The family's kin had since moved from the country, and felt no need to keep the forested property. With such a high demand for new land, the family had certainly gotten a fair price. Developers quickly began to make plans for the woodland, followed quickly by builders, like himself.

Already, a portion of the woods had been clear-cut. The marked trees had been chopped down and mostly hulled away, but a few still needed to be cut to size. The sheer bulk of the trees spoke of how ancient they were, and he couldn't help but feel a little sorrow for their destruction, but it was all for the sake of progression.

Amongst the choirs to screeching joined the low coughing rumbles of diesel engines. The backhoes had started now as well. Slowly, they dug out the massive old stumps and network of roots. It was slow work; progression takes time, as a senior to the business he knew this all too well.

Deciding that he should busy himself with the blueprints, he trekked back towards the construction sight. Strolling away from the edge of the forest and onto the now baron side, he headed for the blue tent. This housed not only the higher-ranking workers while on break, but also kept the blueprints sheltered.

After mopping his forehead with his handkerchief, he began checking and rechecking measurements. And unknown amount of time passed, but suddenly he felt his attention being drawn away. His ears were picking up a peculiar noise. It sounded as though one of the backhoes was in reverse. The piercing siren blared over the din. This was unusual, the backhoes were meant to be digging, not backing up.

However, what was more worrisome still, as the screaming of machinery died out the voices of men grew to replace them. One by one, the loud squeals of the saws stopped until only the blaring siren was left, before being silenced as well.

"Mr. Watanabe! Mr. Watanabe!" At the sounds of his name, He turned around just in time to see the young worker fling himself through the tent's flap.

"What?" Mr. Wantanbe asked voice gruff.

"Sir, one of the backhoes has found…something." The young man stopped before him and fidgeted slightly.

This caused Mr. Watanabe to sigh in annoyance. All the men here knew the protocol. They never saw anything. If they happened to unearth "something", it was best to instantly forget it. It would only hinder the progression of their labor. The scientific psychos would be all over them if they knew about some of the "priceless" artifacts they tossed blindly over their shoulders.

"Sir, you really ought to have a look…" The seriousness of the young mans tone told Mr. Watanabe that an exception to the protocol had been made. Wearily, he nodded his head and allowed the young worker to lead him to the problem area.

Two backhoes were being used on this particular job, and Mr. Watanabe was being taken to the machine on the right. Only yesterday another problem been called to his attention, and it was at this very backhoe. The operator had complained of large boulders, saying that the arrangement of the large rocks must have been done by human hands. Nothing in nature could have caused a circular cylinder of rocks to form beneath the ground.

Personally, Mr. Watanabe had not investigated the site in question. He'd simply told the operator to keep digging. It was impossible to believe such a thing; this forest had been left relatively untouched for decades.

"It's just over here Sir." The young man muttered pointing to the backhoe.

A crowd had gathered around the cooling machine. Various workers circled the bucket. They looked to be peering inside of it. Each had a look of disgust painted across his face as they quickly took a peak at the bucket.

Mr. Watanabe watched their faces closely as he drew nearer. Some appeared to be gagging. One elder worker made a choking sound after his glimpse. Quickly he ran out of the circle and fell to his knees; the contents the man's stomach was soon being split on the ground. Shifting his eyes from the vomiting man, Mr. Watanabe found himself looking toward the head of the group instead.

The leader of them was the operator of the backhoe. He was the only man in the group who seemed to be enjoying himself. A smug smile was a pasted on the operator's lips. As Mr. Watanabe pushed his way forward through the loose crowd, the operator's triumphant smirk widened.

"For ten years I've been working for this company. And I sure as hell know when I see something wrong." The man pointed a calloused finger at the machine. "If this damn forest is so "untouched" then explain this!"

The crowd thinned and the bucket came into full view. Mr. Watanabe let out a gasp and quickly reached for his handkerchief in his breast pocket. He held the fabric over his nose in an attempt to stop his nausea for rising at the grotesque sight.

"Good god." He breathed, hand quivering.

It was impossible, inconceivable, and yet to Mr. Watanabe's horror, his eyes were not lying. Wedged between two rocks in the backhoe's bucket, was a severed human leg.

What had they uncovered?


	4. Chapter 3: Untouched

(From the police's point of view. I just thought it would be something different. There's quite possibly a lot of mistakes in this, tell me and I'll fix'em.)

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**Chapter 3**: Untouched 

Officer Kinjo had never quite had a call like this before. It wasn't unheard of to find a body at a designated construction zone, but it was unusual to find one placed like this.

"So you simply carried on with the construction, even after he warned you about the odd formation?" Officer Kinjo asked, her voice firm. A characteristic she'd developed over the many years as being a police woman. She found she got better results when not carrying a feminine air.

"Well, yes." Mr. Watanabe replayed. "I saw no reason to hold up production, it could have simply been a fluke."

"So, you call finding a dead body a fluke?" She arched a brow, watching Mr. Watanabe's face turned a shade of flustered purple.

"Heavens no! I had no idea someone was under there, no one did." His face wrinkled in defense, turning him into a living prune. "This forest was untouched; no one has been in it for decades."

"I understand Mr. Watanabe, you were simply doing you job." Officer Kinjo reassured him while marking down a few notes in her memo pad. He man seemed innocent enough, his outburst showed he truly had no idea a body had been under the rocks. So unless he was an accomplished actor, it seemed unlikely he had any connection to this case other than being one of the finders, but best to check.

"Am, am I fee to go?" He asked, voice wavering slightly as he mopped his forehead with a sweat stained handkerchief.

"Not quite. Are you sure you've seen no suspicious activity?"

"Yes, quite sure. No one's been here except the workers Officer, and they'll all good men, they wouldn't do this."

Miss. Kinjo gave a single nod. "Thank you Mr. Watanabe, but it's my job to check." Shaking his head, he worked the handkerchief through his stubby fingers. "My questioning is done for now, Thank you for your time."

Nodding once more, Mr. Watanabe walked away back to the blue tent where the workers were. None would be allowed to leave until they had all been processed. Considering how many men there were, that could be a while.

Closing her memo pad, Officer Kinjo let her eyes graze over the heads of people. Law enforcement was in full swing. Officers were scattered, going about their work, but her attention focused onto the multitude of CSI. They swarmed around the pit, picking and prying away at the rocks to unearth the body. The parts they found were placed upon a white tarp, where they were then given a number and documented. Gruesome work.

Among the bustling crowd of CSI, her eyes fell onto her own partner, Officer Hamada. He was just at the edge of the crowd, questioning one of the workers. What an odd place to pick.

She wondered if Hamada could hear any thing the worker said to him. Surely, it must have been noisy, but Hamada was getting something apparently. His pen was constantly on the move scribbling away on his pad. On one of the rare occasions he paused, Hamada glanced up and sought her out. He motioned with a finger for her to come.

Tucking her own pen behind her ear, Kinjo began to make her over to her partner. She eyed the worker carefully as his words became understandable. The man must be saying something of interest.

"…Would you say you've seen any suspicious activity? You know, like unknown persons? Maybe in a group?" Hamada's deep voice drifted over, clearer now the closer she got. However, he sounded a little off, distracted almost.

"Naw, I ain't seen n'thing of the kind Sir." The worker replayed shaking his head. " Cept them…" He pointed to the tent of works behind him. "But they's 'ere everyday."

Hamada nodded, his lips moved, but Kinjo couldn't understand him over the din of the CSI. She noticed that Hamada kept glancing over at the pit, his pen moving all the while. The worker seemed to be a little put off to by his steady writing.

"What cha write'n there?"

The question caused Hamada to stop; he quickly tucked the pen into his pocket.

"Eh…oh, just notes, slandered police protocol you know."

"But I 'aven't said n'thing "note worthy"…'ave I?" The worker asked, tilting his head.

Officer Hamada puffed his chest out, going into his resurging stance.

"Sir, everything is note worthy in any case, particularly one such as this. Thanks to you, I think we've gotten a little further along the rode to solving it." Hamada smiled briefly. "Thank you for the information, you've done I fine job."

"Gee, I didn't know I'd be such a help…" The work scratched his head, his confusion obvious.

"You were, but I'm done, you may go back to the waiting tent if you like."

The worker nodded; still a little puzzled and began to walk away, not quite understanding why Hamada suddenly sent him away. Office Kinjo nearly bumped into the man as he passed. After murmuring a quick apology, she smiled up at her partner.

"Wow, did you find a well of information or what?" She asked as she stopped in front of him.

Hamada chuckled, placing a kind hand on her shoulder, he steered her away from the flow of CSI. After they had gone a few feet, he pulled out his pad and began to flip through the pages.

"Not exactly, I just wanted to have an excuse to eavesdrop on them." Hamada answered truthfully, nodding toward the CSI.

"What? Why? They'll share their finds, we're all connected in this case, no ones going to leave any-" She was cut off as Hamada shook his head.

"I just wanted to hear it. This is an unusual case, besides you should have heard what they were saying, pretty crazy stuff."

"It's the scene of a crime; it's never exactly sane…" Kinjo narrowed her eyes, giving her partner a critical look.

"Fine, fine, fine. You tell me what you've found and I'll tell you how it matches up, ok?" Hamada asked, a little too eager.

"Well…" Kinjo began, remembering what she'd discovered. "It's the third week of construction, and only the workers have been here. It's untouched, no actives have been held in the forest for decades." Kinjo summed up her finds quickly, Hamada only shook his head.

"If it's so untouched, then why did the backhoe operator discover a leg, flesh and all? If its decades old, only bone should be left." Hamada looked at her, his eyes trying to read her face, watching her reaction. "It's completely fresh…"

"What?" Kinjo asked.

"Yep, there's no decomposition whatsoever. The body's been shredded, they found old scorch marks around the lip of the pit, but the pieces of the body are fine, not burned, mummified, or anything." Hamada have a grimace. "It's pretty crazy stuff…"

Kinjo stood in silence, letting her mind chew the information over. How could the body not be decayed? She glanced at her partner; he too seemed stumped by the odd events.

"How could that be?" She asked.

Hamada shrugged and was about to open his mouth, when a loud cry sounded from behind them. Both whirled around to see a CSI sprinting away from the pit. The man slowed his pace, turned to point an accusing finger at his own team members.

"It looked at me! I swear to God it fucking looked at me!" The man yelled.

All the actives around the pit froze. One CSI looked from her crazed partner to the head in her hands. The one they had just uncovered from the hollow, the one he had just hurled at her.

"Isao...i-it's dead…" The woman spoke calmly, but the bewilderment in her voice was clear. Her partner of five years had suddenly sprinted away from her, for no reason at that. Once again, she looked back down to the slivery haired head in her hands. "You know that his poor man couldn't have…"

The woman paused, the silence was ominous. Suddenly, the woman screamed as though she'd been shot. Her hands flew up into the air, letting the severed head plummet onto the ground. Everyone watched it as the head rolled over the soil before coming to a stop.

Kinjo and Hamada could clearly see the face. Dirt was smeared over the pale flesh, but it was perfectly formed. It eyes were closed in such away it looked asleep. Despite the fact that it was on longer attached to a body, it looked so alive.

Kinjo at first thought the light was tricking her; the face couldn't be moving, it was dead. The hopeful illusion broke however, once the head opened its eyes. The two magenta colored irises moved, until they were gazing directly up at her. The blood drained from her face. Hamada quickly reached out to catch his partner as she fainted.


	5. Chapter 4: Name

Author's note: Quickly, thank you for reading so far. Word Processor said that this chapter is error free, but that program so lies.Forgive any mistakes and enjoy.

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**Chapter 4**: Name

Such confusion he had never felt before. It's was all too much for him to take in. Things were changing rapidly; his rundown mind was having difficulty making adjustments. First, the rumbling had started. It came and went, every time it was closer, causing the world around him to quiver and quake. Soon, a grinding churching sound echoed just above him. Scraping and clawing its way toward him. It wasn't frightening or alarming, just confusing.

In his world, surrounded by the damp darkness, such a sound had never reached him before. His mind couldn't process it fully; he could only bear witness as his tomb- The Pit- was stripped away. Finally, the rumbling died but another noise came. It was soft, yet urgent at the same time. He found that if he listened closely enough, he could understand the odd frenzied noise.

'_If this damn forest is so "untouched" then explain this!'_

It leaked though the rocks, and he found to his surprise he could comprehend every word. Suddenly, the forgotten information hit him. It was a voice. He had just heard a sentence, something that his ears had done without for years. It was so alien, yet familiar at the same time.

From then on, he listened very closely, trying to decipher every word he heard. He treasured every word. The voices grew louder and closer. They mixed into the grinding of boulders; he could feel the weight being lifted from his head, rock by rock. The bolder concealing his face began to move, a sharp edge dug into his cheek.

"Isao…it's too heavy, help me." The voice was light and airy.

"Yeah, sure sure. Be right there." This one was coarse and low.

Suddenly, the rock shifted and was lifted away. He hadn't expected the sudden brightness. Eyes burning from the harsh light, he closed them tightly. The intense daylight was so unforeseen and new; he'd completely forgotten about the sun.

While he was pleasantly surprised to see the light, the sun didn't seem too happy to see him. The warm rays shown brightly every time he tried to open his eyes, he was forced to keep them shut. He was so considered about his blindness, he hardly felt the hands that easily lifted him up and out of his prison.

"Poor fellow," It was the light voice again. "He looks perfectly preserved though…look at the laceration on his cheek. The rocks must have made it; I remember seeing it when we pulled him out. It looks…fresh sort of. What do you think Isao?"

The one called Isao answered. "Yeah, that is kinda weird. The body mustn't have been down there too long…here."

He felt the hands pass him off to another set. A finger began to prod at the cut. He wanted to tell them too knock it off and stop poking him, it was really annoying. As he made up his mind to do so, he opened his eyes and found himself looking at the first human face he'd seen in years.

He took in the scrubby features of the man and was about to tell him off, but the man started to scream, loudly. Abruptly, the man named Isao threw him into the air. Caught off guard he closed his eyes. Two hands grasped him tightly before he hit the ground.

"It looked at me! I swear to God it fucking looked at me!" Isao yelled, he sounded further away and breathless, like he'd been running.

"Isao...i-it's dead…" Once more, the feminine tone came, trying to calm down the frightened man. He opened his eyes to look up at her; she wasn't looking down at him at the moment. "You know that his poor man couldn't have…" Her eyes shifted downwards and widened considerably once they met his.

Her eyes were a bright clear shade of green, a familiar shade of jade. For the briefest of moments, he was no longer behind held up by a startled woman, but by someone else. Their strange eyes glared down at him, furiously so. He couldn't see their mouth to get a more accurate emotion from them. A black mask hid the lower portion of their face. He could see the fabric move slightly as they began to speak in a low angry tone.

'_If you do not learn from your mistakes Hidan, you are doomed to repeat them._'

He stared at green eyes, transfixed. The man looked as though he made of mere shadows and air, nothing more. Almost hollow, a mere memory of a man.

Just as soon as the image appeared, it faded, the woman was now back. He wanted to see the fuming ghostly figure again. He wanted to ask them what they meant and then a realization dawned over him.

Hidan. The figure has said Hidan and they had been speaking to him directly. That was his name! The dark looming pit hadn't claimed his identity entirely, he remembered his name.

Before Hidan could revel in the moment any longer, a piercing scream broke through his pleasant recognition. The wailing woman dropped him and he hit the ground hard. The world then began to spin as Hidan rolled down the hill.

Now sickened and disoriented, Hidan came to a gradual stop. Slowly, he crack one eye open and then another, only to find a couple peering down at him. The female's face immediately became drained of color. She swayed dangerously before her male counterpart caught her.

Hidan couldn't understand why everyone was acting like this. Why were people so frightened by his appearance? The fuck was wrong with them?


	6. Chapter 5: White Coats

**Chapter 5**: White Coats

A loose crowd formed around him. Horror, fright, and disgust all mingled on their faces. They murmured anxiously among themselves, looking just as confused and Hidan felt.

"Why did that guy run?"

"Did she really faint?"

"Is it really alive?"

"Naw, it's just a head. Can't be."

"No, Look. It _i_s! It moved!"

He caught snippets of hushed conversation, and began to understand exactly why they were afraid. He was decapitated. That stuck him as odd. Hadn't these people seen as disembodied head before? Why were they just gawking at him, instead of mending him? He considered trying to talk to them, but every time he's eyes met theirs, they shied away in horror, or worse, they became ill. Fucking pansies.

They all looked different as well. Something about their clothing seemed off. He tried to analyze them, but they all seemed to form into one large mob. It was difficult to look at just one directly, when they all blended together like watery ink.

This awkward faze was broken as high-pitched siren cried out. The group's attention became focused onto the oncoming noise, instead of Hidan. Unfortunately, the source of the noise was behind him. He wasn't able to see where the demanding sound was coming from.

The first time he saw them, they looked formidable, dressed as they were. They wore white pristine coats, making them stick out among the multicolored throng. Four of them moved into his line of vision as they signaled for the crowd to move back, shoeing them away like children. The crowd obeyed, as they were pushed to the sidelines. Two of the White Coats stayed behind, while the other two began to walk away, heading for the blue tent.

The White Coats, oddly enough, looked very ordinary, aside from their uniform, but they seemed to wielded power over the crowd. They spoke loudly and quickly as they flashed their badges. Apparently, the shiny metals were the source of their authority. Hidan couldn't figure out why, they didn't look dangerous.

A pair of hand picked him up gently, as if they were afraid he would break. The scene washed before his eyes, there were far more than four White Coats, there looked to be at least a dozen or more. They swarmed around a stained tarp on the ground, collecting the body parts that lay there. Hidan knew immediately that those were pieces of him.

He watched his broken body being hulled away and placed in the back of some odd box on wheels. The White Coats didn't seem to be as frightened of him as the crowd was, perhaps they would put him together.

"Where are you taking me?" Hidan spoke, his voice sounded far too raspy. He felt his carrier jump slightly in surprise, but didn't receive an answer. He tried again, louder this time. "Where the fuck are you taking me?"

"I am not authorized to give that information." The reply was curt, worn-out. It sounded like they said this often.

Hidan opened his mouth, ready to snap back at the man, but the words died on his lips. They had reached the back of the black box. Two doors were open, and two other White Coats were inside along with the rest of his body. Each part was being placed in clear plastic containers according to the size of the body part. Every lid was labeled to the corresponding piece. Hidan could see the box in the center, the one with the breathing holes, it was marked '_Head'_.

He was handed off to one of the two White Coats; inside what he would later learn was called a van. Hidan glanced around the dimly lit inside. He was eerily reminded of The Pit he had just managed to escape.

"Amazing. To think the government could create something like this and just throw it away." The White Coat holding him spoke, looking at Hidan as if he were an object instead of a human being.

"What makes you so sure it's from the government?" The seconded one spoke, his back was turned away.

Hidan ground his teeth, growing furious. "I have a name you fucker!" He spat at the White Coat's back.

"Amazing. Simply amazing." The man holding him spoke almost cooing. "The brain is still able to function without the need of a body…is the sedative ready?"

A noise of affirmation came from his fellow. Hidan fumed as he was placed inside the plastic box. His eyes flickered between the two of them as he began to realize he's current situation. No longer was The Pit his captor it was now these people, The White Coats that now held him hostage.

The second White Coat turned around, he was wielding a syringe. Hidan eyed the clear fluid it held nervously. The man drew closer and the waiting needle glittered in the dim light. Hidan was starting to halfheartedly wonder if The Pit had been all that bad.

The White Coat now hovered over him. Slowly, the man lowered the syringe until Hidan felt a prick beneath his ear. He tried to snap at the man's hand with his teeth, but the White Coat was too quick.

"It's going to be a mess putting him back together." One of them spoke; Hidan wasn't sure which one it was any longer. Whatever they had injected him with had already begun to work. The world was becoming out of focus and dull. He tried to speak, but his tongue felt too heavy to move, like a stone.

"Indeed, but it will be well worth all the trouble…"

The voices were becoming grainy, they sounded further away. A detached sense of fear clawed at Hidan's slipping consciousness. The world was become dark and silent again, he didn't want that to happen. Even if these guys were complete assholes, he didn't want to be trapped again in the damp and dark.

He didn't want to be alone…

Then the world faded completely as Hidan fell into a deep unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 6: The Black Mirror

**Author's Note:** Alright, well the next three chapters are more or less filler. Please bear with me, they do have some merit. Also, a special thanks to everyone who's favorited, reviewed, or are currently watching me (stalkers.).

**Questions: **Who are the White Coats? They're pretty much your average top secret laboratory personnel, nothing outlandish.

Is Kakuzu coming? Yes, eventually.

* * *

**Chapter 6: **The Black Mirror

White, it was all Hidan could see and he wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been staring at it. As his bleary eyes focused, he began to notice tiny black specks mixed in with the white. Gradually, he become aware that he was looking up, ergo that had to be a ceiling and he was lying down. He wasn't in the back of the black box any more. This was good news, but it made many questions arise. Where the hell was he?

Turning his head, Hidan took in the whole room. It was white, sterile, and empty save for a black tinted mirror imbedded in one wall, a door which was undoubtedly locked, and the bed he was laying on. He was alone again, trapped in some godforsaken room, fuck.

Florescent lights flickered over the gleaming white room. They were so bright; it was almost painful to look around. Hidan blinked slowly, feeling very lethargic and sluggish. He must have been heavy sedated; he could still feel the affects of the drug on his system.

He took in a deep breath, it hurt, surprisingly. True, his throat felt raw and dry, but every time he breathed the skin over his chest felt tight. That was when it dawned on him. Hidan raised his head to look down at himself; he was whole. His entire body was back together.

Hidan's jaw dropped slightly, he hadn't been attached to his body in years, and it was an amazing feeling. He stretched his arms outward, they felt stiff and heavy, but he could move them. He flexed his fingers, made a fist and then repeated it over and over. He could move. Hidan gave a short thrilled laugh of triumph, but the short laugh caused his chest spasm in pain.

Hidan looked down at his chest, but he couldn't see it, a white shirt blocked him from spotting the cause of the itching pain. Slowly, he sat up and his back began to tremor much like his chest. His muscles weren't accustomed to moving as expected, but his skin felt as though it was being pinched.

Lifting up his shirt, Hidan looked down at his skin, only to see lines of stitching covering his stomach and chest. They intersected often, but looked neat and orderly otherwise. He ran a finger along one if the rows. They were at least a couple days old, the skin beneath was fully healed. So what's why they hurt, his body was starting to reject the clear stitches. No wonder they itched like a bitch.

He began to pick at one until it was loose enough to pull out. Hidan inspected it with a critical eye. The transparent stitches didn't feel right and it was bugging him. For some reason he thought they should look and feel different.

Hidan started to puck out the stitches he could reach one by one. He removed his shirt to get to the ones on his back, and rolled up his pants to reach the lines on his legs. The Whist Coats must have sewn him together. They must have dressed him too, that thought bothered Hidan a little.

Soon, he had a pile of slightly bloody thread on his bed. The little pin holes would soon heal, he knew this without a second thought. It just seemed natural for his body mended quickly.

Hidan scanned over the room again, his eyes landed on the onyx mirror. Cautiously, he eased his body toward the edge of the bed. Placing his feet on the cool tile, he pushed himself on his feet. He swayed dangerously for a second, but his muscles seemed to remember how to move.

He gazed at the black mirror as he walked toward it. Hidan got the odd sensation that he was being watch, but he could only see his own pale reflection. His face was familiar; it hadn't changed at all really. Hidan thought his eyes looked far too lost and old for his body, but other than that, timed hadn't touched his face.

His hair was down though. Licking his fingers, he ran them through his hair to slick it back. The sliver strand fell right back into his face.

"Fucking hair." He muttered and glared at the mirror.

He looked at his neck and he saw a line of stitching he'd missed. Surely by now his head was firmly back on. Leaning in towards to the black mirror, he began to pick at the stitches. Suddenly, as if dye were running through them, the translucent threads began to change, they became an inky black. Hidan blinked questioningly at own his reflection.

It was then he saw the hand on his shoulder. Hidan stared into the black mirror and saw to his surprise, that he was no longer alone. Beside him stood a toweringly tall man, he looked far more intimidating than the White Coats; yet Hidan knew he wouldn't harm him, couldn't harm him.

He was dressed in a long high collared cloak. A white and black covering hid his entire face, save for his eyes, his pricing green eyes. Hidan stared at him wide-eyed, the man was so familiar, but no name came to mind. Hidan knew however, that this was the same specter he'd seen by The Pit, but he looked so vivid. Hidan nearly found himself believing the man was real; he could almost feel the tan hand clutching his shoulder.

'_You need to be more careful Hidan; I can't always clean up after you.'_

Hidan spun around to face the strange man, but found to his disappointment, no one was there. Disturbed now, Hidan quickly looked back at the black mirror, but the image was gone, evaporated and compressed back into his own mind. Carefully, Hidan examined the stitches along his neck. They were translucent once more; the color had been bled from them.

"Who are you?" Hidan murmured, gazing at his solitary reflection.


	8. Chapter 7: Questions

**Author's Note:** Because I don't want to do actual work, here's another chapter. Thanks for all the support guys.

* * *

**Chapter7: **Questions

Hidan began to live in the white room from that point on, and a routine began to form. Everyday, two White Coats would come to his cell door followed by two men in black uniforms. Hidan supposed they were guards; he didn't pay them too much attention at first. Usually the White Coats would ask him questions.

They would unlock a small hatch on the door to talk to him. If Hidan bothered to get up, he could also see the four men through the small opening, but tightly woven wire prevented his hand from reaching through. Sadly, he was unable to harm the bastards and that infuriated him.

The White Coats often jabbered on about some sort of government project, they asked time and time again where he was created and for what purpose. Hidan would tell them the honest truth; he had no fucking idea what they were talking about. This didn't seem to be the answer the White Coat's were looking for though.

After a time they would leave then return the next day and the questioning would start anew. Eventually, Hidan had enough and tried to attack them through the metal door. He beat on the barrier and yelled furiously until he grew exhausted. The White coats did not return for two days after that.

After his outburst, questions concerning the government were kept to a minimum, less he be driven into another homicidal fit. The White Coats return brought a whole new round of questioning with them. Now they wanted to know about his past.

Hidan was very sketchy about this subject. He would say something that just popped to mind, usually about random of images or bits of past conversation. Hidan also frequently mentioned the man with the green eyes.

The White Coats were unable to make heads or tails of Hidan's ramblings. The best that they could surmise was that Hidan had compressed his memories. They said if given time he might manage to remember them fully, something might trigger the recollection process. Basically, they were just as clueless as he was.

Every so often the White Coats would come barring a tray with instruments. On these occasions the door was unlocked, but before Hidan to make a dash toward the exit, the two guards would rush in. Armed with nightsticks and sedative, the guards would restrain him while the White Coats filled vials with his blood. What they did with these vials Hidan had no idea.

Once, they even took a hunk out of his forearm, a perfect tiny square. Hidan was livid. The While Coats returned it a few days latter, blackened and slightly charred. They stitched it back in place and marveled as the seemingly dead flesh reattached itself and became alive once more. Needless to say, Hidan was less than thrilled to see the White Coats.

When he wasn't being cut open or prodded with needles, Hidan became placid. He would sit on his bed and watch the black mirror in a listless sort of way. Waiting for the spectral image with jade eyes to return, it never did.

This was how the Nurse usually found him. She also wore a white coat as well, but she never came to pester him. She delivered food to his room. She came everyday with guards escorting her. The Nurse would simply open another latch on the door and slide a tray of food into his room.

It was kind of humorous, the White Coats knew that he could and would live without nourishment. However, they gave it to him, and Hidan didn't argue. Like every day, Hidan turned towards the door when she arrived. He knew every well she could hear him loud and clear.

"Where am I?" he asked simply.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not authorized to give that information." He'd heard this answer many times by now, it really pissed him off.

"…Don't you bastards ever say anything else?" he sighed.

From then on, Hidan asked her a question at least once everyday; most of the time he never received an actual answer back. Her voice would simply reply back '_sorry_', and then that damn line would follow '_I'm not authorized to blah blah blah'_. Everyday though, Hidan never failed to ask her something.

"Why am I here?" He asked one day as she slipped the tray through the door.

She paused before answering curtly. "Because, you're unusual." Then she closed and locked the opening tightly.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" He snapped back.

Hidan chewed over her answer; in the back of his mind a forgotten memory sparked to life.

'_Sir Leader, you know I have never failed to complete a mission.' _A low voice replayed in his mind.

'_Yes, you are a very valuable asset to us Ka-' _another spoke,tone full of quiet authority, but was cut off.

'_Then why do I need a partner, namely Hidan?'_ The first voice very displeased, their anger it was directed towards him. Hidan frowned as the rerunning voice belittled him.

'_Because, he's unusual, much like yourself. Your styles will complement each other nicely…' _The second spoke again and then the memory stopped short.

Hidan sat silently, thinking over the formerly lost conversation. Undeniably, the voices belonged to people to whom he had once known, but no face came to match the ghostly voices. One of them had said '_Ka_' before being cut off. That sounded vaguely familiar, he felt should be able to piece in the rest, but he simply couldn't, and that began to grate at him.

The more he tried to remember, the more enraged he became until he couldn't stand it any longer. Leaping off the bed, Hidan began to pace quickly, trying to calm himself. He wouldn't remember anything like this. Despite his best efforts though, Hidan's furry skyrocketed.

"I can't take this fucking place anymore!" He yelled, hand curling into fists as he stormed about the room. "I hate these bastards! I hate this goddamn room!"

His anger had reached the breaking point. Rushing over to the door, he slammed his fist into it, hard. The barrier didn't give, and Hidan didn't stop. He'd done this before. The white metal door was marred with numerous dents and he'd been the cause of them all.

"Lettme outa here!" He bellowed. "Or I'll rip your fucking throats out!"

Hidan continued to punch and bang on the door. No one ever came and it never gave way. Fresh red streaks began to mark the door, another layer upon many, as he knocked the bark off his knuckles, but he refused to stop. Over and over again he slammed his fist into metal, finding a sick solace in the rhythmic pain. He was stopped short by a splintering crunch.

Hidan paused and looked down at his hand, he'd broken it. The middle joint was poking out of the skin at an odd angle. Scowling, Hidan lowered his arms. His hands, now battered and bruised, dangled loosely at his sides.

"Why the hell is this so hard?" he muttered bitterly to himself, still shaking with unspent furry. "Why can't I remember?"

Breathing in short gasps; he sunk to his knees and rested his forehead against the bloodied door. He stayed like that, glaring at the spattered floor. His own mind was betraying him; he was still a prisoner. Not only was he being detained by these scientific fuckers. His own mind held him captive, binding him more tightly than chains; his world was still dark. This thought made Hidan grind his teeth together in frustration.

"Fuck." And he pressed his palm to the door. Fingers brushed the cold unforgiving metal, leaving only slick red prints behind.


	9. Chapter 8: Lord Jashin

**Author's Note: **Yeah, this is the last filler for now. There is a plot at the end of the tunnel!

* * *

**Chapter 8: **Lord Jashin

Hidan didn't bother to look at the door as White Coats unlocked the little latch. He remained laying on his bed staring up at the ceiling, head resting on top of his arms.

"So Hidan. How are we feeling today?" One of them asked, calm and collected as ever. Yes, they had learned his name by now, he'd willingly told them.

"Shitty." He retorted back.

Hidan expected some long involved round of inquiry to begin. He waited for the questions to start rolling, they didn't.

"We're sorry to hear that." The White Coat's voice sounded anything but apologetic. So now aside from being complete assholes they were now liars too. Hidan fought the rising murderous urge.

"Yeah you should be. All you bastards do is piss me off, seriously."

He tuned the two out as they began to ramble on. He couldn't bring himself to care any longer. His thoughts were too consumed with half formed plots to kill the two White Coats. However, none seemed very likely. Even if he managed to break through the wire mesh, only his arm would be able to get through and that really wouldn't do much.

"We brought you something today." The words drug him back to the real world. Brought him something?

Morbidly, he wondered what they were going to prod him with now. Maybe another needle; they hadn't taken blood in sometime, or perhaps they wanted another hunk of his flesh instead. Whatever the White Coats brought with them, Hidan wasn't look forward too it. He'd learned to loath their surprises.

"It was discovered with you in the pit. You remember the pit don't you, Hidan?" One of the White Coats asked him.

Hidan grimaced, how could he for get his former prison?

"We can not permit you to touch it." The other began to speak. "But perhaps seeing it will help to jot your memory."

Now Hidan understood. They weren't too pleased with his incompletely memory. Well, they weren't the only ones. The White Coats had said it would take time, years even and it might never return fully. This event showed that they didn't like to wait either.

Unhurriedly, he sat up and left his place on the bed, making sure to take his good sweet time. Once he got to the door, he peered out of the opening, glaring that the men outside.

"Well?" he asked, sounding as uninterested as possible.

He looked at one of them and took notice of what the man was holding. Hidan observed with mild curiosity that the White Coat didn't have a tray with him. Instead, the man held two rods in his gloved hands. They were rusted with age and brittle looking. At one time the rods must have been one, Hidan could see they would have fit together. He then looked at the dulled pointed end; his chest ached with a familiar pain. It was a pike.

In the cult of Jashin, once one has proven their undying devotion, they are gifted with a scythe, to reap the world of unclean souls as it where. However, modifications could be made. For instance, adding two additional blades unto the end of the scythe to create a three pronged weapon could be done.

Also, it wasn't strictly written that one had to use just that scythe. Other weapons to be add to your arsenal, like a pike for instance. It would be a very useful tool use on a sacrifice. Hitting the vitals would be such a waste, prolonging the shared pain would be righteous.

As Hidan stared at the rusted abandoned tool, his eyes widened. The years had certainly taken their toll upon the now old and fragile metal, but without a second thought, he knew that pike belonged to him. Automatically, he reached for the rosary that was no longer hanging from his neck. How could he forget something of such grave importance? Jashin had been and now was his reason for living. The Pit had stripped him of his beliefs, what horrid things confinement could do.

"That's mine…" Hidan spoke levelly, eyes not once leaving the broken pike. "Give it to me."

"So, this did spark a memory. Very good." The White Coat holding his pike murmured to his companion. "Tell me Hidan, what el-"

"Give me my pike." Hidan snarled at the man.

The White Coat's voice wavered for a moment, before falling back onto his verbal safety net. "We're not authorized t-"

"I don't fucking care!" Hidan spoke over the man. "Get your filthy hands off it! You shitheads have no right to touch an instrument of Lord Jashin's will!"

The two White Coats seemed unfazed by his flare-up. They looked more inquisitive than anything. "And, just who is this Lord Jashin, Hidan?"

A crazed lopsided grin crossed Hidan's face. "Open this fucking door, and I'll show you."

"Sorry, but no can do."


	10. Chapter 9: Savior

**Author's Note:** I so sick of proofreading this chapter, I don't care anymore, if there are mistakes tell me and I'll fix them…anyway this will probably be the last chapter for a while. I'm a lazy person and I don't have any more that I've previously written. Also, I kind of fail at writing in accents. Forgive me.

Maître Master, or so French translators tell me.

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**Chapter 9**: Savior 

He looked at the man beside him out of the corner of his eye; the young man was smiling excitedly. What an idiot. How could he have been paired with this little twit?

"You know vhat you are to do, ja?" He asked voice heavily accented. Not once did he turn his head to look directly at his so-called partner.

"But of course I know ze plan Maître." The young man replied in his aggravating way of speaking. "I will go in and find 'im, it won't be zat difficult." A quiet 'un' finished his sentence.

Silence fell between them, for they had nothing to say to each other. In that stillness there lay a deep unsettling rift of disagreement. Nether of them could completely agree on what true beauty was, and it severely affected their partnership. Their missions were completed, but never without a bitter sort of difference dividing them. Their opinions were everything to them.

The two came to a gradual halt. They gazed at the soft glow of electric lights in the hazy distance; it looked like a bright lonely island drifting in a world of swirling fog. The base was the only source of light for miles.

"Zey certainly want zis place hidden, un." The younger man spoke, turning to look down at his partner.

The older man was hunched over, this head stuck out directly in front of him, oddly resembling a turtle. His body was twisted into such a position it would have caused any other man great pain, however the elder couldn't feel pain any more, or anything for that matter. He'd long since taken care of such trivial things.

His Maître didn't bother to look at him. Instead the glassy dead eyes stared forward.

"Don't keep me vaiting."

The young man smiled mischievously. In a flash he was gone, just a streak of blond sprinting off towards the glowing base. For the plan to work, he had to be the first.

"Brat." The hunched back muttered and shuffled after his partner. He would have to stay within a semi-close range, the young idiot would surly grab a lot of unwanted attention, his "art" always did.

---

With sure strokes, Hidan finished the symbol on the pristine white wall. A triangle within a circle, dozens of them now lined the inside of the room, each painstakingly painted with his blood. After muttering a prayer of forgiveness, Hidan moved down to another clean spot on the wall and started over.

He'd been performing this ritual of clemency and pardon for a long time now, ever since the White Coats had jolted his memory. He needed to be forgiven, The Pit had nearly erased his values and he had allowed it. This was unforgivable, but Jashin was a merciful god to those who pledged their undying loyalty.

Hidan bit at his wrist until his eyetooth caught and reopened the jagged congealing wound. Dipping his fingers into the running blood, he began to sketch the outline of a circle on the wall. At first, he'd used the edged of a plastic cup he'd broken to drawl the needed blood. However, the guards had come in and taken it away a few days ago. Now his water and food were delivered in Styrofoam blows.

In any other case of self mutilation, the person would have long since been restrained. However, this place was not a mental ward, nor would Hidan die from these actions. Unknown to him, the White Coats were watching through the one-way window, or the "black mirror". They found these proceedings fascinating and would do nothing to stop them entirely. Hidan was an interesting captive.

They had run test after test on his blood, it rejuvenated every time. It was an amazing sight to whiteness. Also, they oftentimes mixed in small amounts of odorless tasteless poisons into the meals they served him, every time the poison was neutralized by his system. The scientists were in awe at his body's ability to evade death. Toxins and dismemberment couldn't kill him. Even after charring a hunk of his flesh, his body was still unable to reattach and return the skin to its normal state. It was amazing.

They planed on freezing his body next; in negative temperatures would his heart still manage to beat? What about water, he would certainly survive having his lungs flooded, but what reaction would his body have otherwise? There were so many possibilities, so many experiments to run. For now however, the scientists were content to monitor the strange behavior of their captive. They watched the bizarre ceremonies he preformed to a long forgotten pagan god.

So, Hidan sat in his isolated room, performing his ritual for eyes he had no knowledge of. This would have proceeded, perhaps indefinitely, for the White Coats had thought of nearly everything to keep their subject inside, but they had only thought briefly of external forces outside the controlled environment. Because they believe that no one, save for themselves, knew about their captive.

Hidan's fingers paused half way through a stroke as he heard a sound outside. He'd heard this sound before. It was loud, deafening, and very familiar. Turing his head toward the door, Hidan stared at it quizzically.

---

The young man stepped through the still smoldering door he'd blown in and over the bodies of guards that littered the ground. They had all been caught in the blast. A line of chunky red spray ringed the doorway, beautiful; the prefect way to make an entrance.

Pulling back a stray strand of hair, the terrorist examined the work of his latest creation. Idly, he wondered how it felt to be apart of the intense explosion, how lucky those guards had been to experience art like his in their final moments. However, he didn't stay long, more were sure to arrive, best be on his way.

Quickly, he was off moving speedily into the underbelly of the base. Running through the maze like halls briskly, the young man read the signs that raced by. Never before had they been ordered to openly attack a Laboratory, this must be a very special recruit if their leader was willing to go this far. The newbie had better be worth all this trouble, their flight here had been costly, and the self-proclaimed "accountant" of their organization wasn't pleased.

Room 237.

The young man stopped abruptly, almost skidding past the room. He eyed the door closely. There was a good locking mechanism in place; he'd have to break through that. The door was probably well imbedded too; the hinges weren't visible, they were hidden behind the metal exterior.

Rummaging through his pockets, he pulled out five small explosives. Gently he activated each by pressing their center. When live, each sprouted three spinally legs on each side that grappled them to the door. He applied one to each corner and one where the heavy-duty lock met the wall.

He knocked once on the cold metal and called, trying to remember his foreign language education he spoke, "Hey, stand back." and his Maître had said he was too much of an idiot to learn Japanese.

He heard a faint, "_What?_" from the other side of the door before distancing himself from the live explosives. Pressing the small detonator in his pocket, he watched the spider-like bombs burst.

---

Hidan stared at the door incredulously,

"_Hey, stand back._" What was that supposed to mean? Curiously, he started to climb to his feet. However, the sudden blast made Hidan cry out in surprise and stumble. Losing his balance, he fell backwards awkwardly, but he didn't make any move to get back up.

Tongues of flame lapped around the door frame briefly, singeing the blood painted doorframe on the inside. The fire died back almost instantaneously, but ropes of smoke began to creep in, like probing fingers, they filled the room with a bitter odor, sulfur.

"What the hell!" He cried, breathing in the awful smell.

The pitter-patter of running feet came and the door buckled under the force of being hit, the door was being kicked down. Now, Hidan moved. Instinctively, he pulled himself unto a crouch, ready to attack the oncoming enemy.

The metal door screeched loose from its frame and sparks flew. It fell forward and clattered into the room. The force of the fall pushed the acidic cloud further into the room, effectively blocking everything from sight. Eyes stinging from the foul stench, Hidan tried not to breath.

"I told you, stand back." It was the same voice, the person spoke in a heavily accented tone.

Slowly, the wispy screen of smoke began to subside. The remaining tendrils danced through the air, creating lazy patterns. They formed a cloudy outline of a person. The figure took at few bold steps into the blood painted chamber. The broken door creaked and rattled under their weight.

"Who the hell are you?" Hidan growled, trying to see the odd person through watery eyes.

The obscured figure fanned away the last of the weaving haze. Hidan's jaw slacked in disbelief, but the young man only smiled back at him. His uncovered blue eye glittered, watching brightly to see if Hidan made any sudden movements.

It was as if Hidan was seeing a ghost, much like the one from earlier beside The Pit. This one however, wasn't just a figment; this one was flesh and blood. The young blond haired man, who looked suspiciously like a young woman, wasn't going to disappear.

"You're savior, un." The young man paused and looked behind him briefly, greeting someone. "Ah..." Hidan watched, utterly confused as the young man began to speak again. The blond's lips moved, but Hidan couldn't understand a word he said this time, it was all gibberish.

A bowed figure shuffled into view behind the blond; they moved in such a disjointed manner, as if they were merely a lumbering shell. The man's black cloak hung around him, his empty sleeves swayed with each movement. The hunched back's glazed glare fell onto Hidan, the strange man never once blinked.

From were he was, Hidan couldn't see the dark red stains splattered across the hunchback's clothes. He had no idea that the strange man had just returned from destroying the Laboratory; he'd smashed the vials filled with Hidan's blood, burned the written records, and had slaughtered the personal. The scientist's database, filled to the brim with knowledge was being eaten away thanks to a skilled hacker working for them. To the scientific community, Hidan was now just an unmade discovery. Once again, Hidan was unknown to a modern mankind that he himself didn't even know existed.

Hidan's eyes frantically switched between the two faces until he felt dizzy and disoriented. So familiar, oh so familiar. Both of them were so memorable. They were only missing something. He looked at their clothing, it was plain and black, that wasn't right; there clothes were supposed to be something else, something different.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Hidan bellowed; the acute confusion made him aggravated.

The young man looked at him, slightly surprised by Hinda's outburst, but did nothing. A long guttural sound then followed, answering Hidan. The voice was gruff and deep; it belonged to the hunched man; he was speaking the same rubbish the young blond was.

Before Hidan could think properly, the dark flap covering the rest of the crooked man's face fluttered. For a split-second he could see beneath the mask. Hidan watched as the three separate sets of jaws moved, spewing small glittering fragments that imbedded themselves deep into his neck. The projectiles stung on contact.

Hidan sprung to his feet as the pain hit, forced back into reality. He ripped the things out of his neck, they were needles. More fucking needles. He was sick of these damn things. He threw them aside, ignoring the burning sensation that raced down his neck, and lunched himself at the young man. Hidan threw his fist towards blonde's face, trying to quickly go through him and to the hunchback behind him.

However, his punch was sloppy and was easily ducked. Hidan's legs were kicked out from under him suddenly. Toppling backwards, his head smashed onto the floor. The world was spinning. The blond's face hovered over him, blurry and fuzzy, his lips moved, but Hidan couldn't understand him.

The blond man looked down at him with a look of mocking pity. Hidan gave him a heated glare. He tried to swat at the man's face, but his arm was too heavy and fell limply to his side. Hidan's neck burned, his blood boiled, and his veins throbbed with a dry pain. The needles had been laced with something, shit.

"You're assholes, both of ya." He muttered unintelligently, before passing out into a feverish sleep.

---

"What did you do zu 'im Maître?" The young man asked, watching their target's face become washed-out and sickly. The poison must have been extremely potent to affect the man so quickly. "We were meant zu capture 'im, not kill 'im, un."

"So vhat?" The elder challenged darkly. The way he figured it, a few needles wouldn't kill their target, not after what their leader had said about him. If he could survive complete dismemberment, a little poison would be easy to live through. "Pick him up, you've vasted enough time." And with that, the hunched back began to shuffle away.

The young blond rolled his eyes. "You've wasted enough zime, un." He mimicked his Maître poorly.

Giving a sigh, he looked down at the unconscious man. He was going to be a challenge to carry.


	11. Chapter 10: Welcome

**Author's note:** I'm so happy that readers could understand and place the accents I gave Deidara and Sasori's reincarnations. (Yes, Deidara is French, while Sasori is German.)Why the accents? I did this because the original Akatsuki members were all from different countries in the Naruto universe, so it would make sense if their reincarnations where from different countries in the modern-day as well. Yeah, so I hope that was an adequate explanation, it made sense in my mind at least. Blah blah blah, tell me about mistakes, blah blah blah.

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**Chapter 10**: Welcome 

The poison bubbling through Hidan's system brought strange and fitful visions. Sleep was meant to be restful, but this venom induced stupor was anything but. He stood alone in a dark cold place surrounded by nothingness, or perhaps there was something there; maybe the world was simply shrouded in endless black.

He walked forward blindly, feeling his way along utterly lost. Slowly, he began to see them; simple shapes at first, hazy and distorted in outline, like rising waves of heat. The closer he walked towards them, the clearer they became. There were eight of them in total, their backs all turned toward him.

He called out to them, but Hidan himself could not hear his own voice, not one moved. He tried again, his words were still muted, and the same result occurred. Annoyed now, he moved towards the man in the middle, his orange hair was spiked upwards and rings lined the cartilage of his ears.

Reaching out, he touched the man's shoulder. Hidan's hand bushed the fabric of the man's black and red cloak. Instantly, the man shuddered, at first Hidan thought this was because he noticed his existence, but that wasn't the case.

The man's back shifted, his legs buckled and folded inwards, and the man broke apart under Hidan's touch, crumbling into a thick ashy-gray dust that spilt onto the inky floor. Hidan stared, mouth a gape at the empty cloak left behind on the ground, like a discarded shell. Quickly, Hidan turned to the next person on his right; her blue hair hid her face as she too broke apart, fluttering into a million pieces before bursting apart into powder.

Hidan looked around in frantic confusion as the figures collapsed into piles of dead dust, one right after the other. A petite man with head hair toppled over, his limbs disconnecting into heaps on the ground before breaking, just as the blond beside him broke apart and disintegrated.

Another pair, one tall and blue skinned the other short and pale, collided with each other; ash billowed as they hit, like an explosion. Next, a man with green incasing his head fell away as the orange faced person beside him collapsed into dirt as well. The terrible chain reaction befell them all until only one remained standing.

The tall man stood, his covered head hung downwards. His usually straight posture was slumped, defeated. Hidan ran towards the man yelling, but once again his own voice could not be heard, it was still hushed and he didn't know why.

The lingering man seemed to hear him though; his head turned slightly, one jade eye looked back at Hidan. As Hidan ran, he tried to get to the man, but noting could be done. Hidan watched as a hunk of the tall man's shoulder fell away, turning into a lump of ash on it's collision with the ground.

"No!" Hidan yelled, his voice now coming in crystal clear for the first time.

The man merely gazed at him with a strange sort of pity that frustrated Hidan. The tall man was falling apart where he stood. Half his face broke off, parts of his arm too; they became plumes of dust, leaving behind flakes that hovered in the air, slowly drifting to the unfeeling floor. His broad frame bowed in on itself and his body deteriorated completely, nothingness.

'_You're the only one left.'_

Hidan stopped running, there was no point. He stood alone again, in that cold dark place.

The dream has been so realistic; he had a difficult time recognizing reality when he came too and opened his eyes. Hidan sat there, not fully with it; in the chair he'd been placed in and stared at the walls. They were a weird gaudy color, green with zigzagging pink flowers on them. He knew this because he looking at the wallpaper hard, trying to get his bleary eyes to focus, they weren't cooperating.

Whatever the hunchback had shot him up with, it was some serious shit. He felt his neck; the skin was healed but sore to the touch, defiantly something potent. There was really nothing Hidan could do to speed up the healing process, just wait it out.

Shakily, he got to his feet and made his way over to the door. He tried it, locked. Stepping back a few feet, Hidan flexed his stiff shoulders, fully confident that he could break down the offending door, even if he was still recovering.

"That wouldn't be wise," A voice, scrambled and pitchy, sounded behind him.

Hidan turned around to see a back screen bolted to the wall behind him, he'd missed it earlier. The screen showed a face concealed in dark shadows. Hidan assumed it was a man, but the distorted voice and disguised face made it difficult to tell. The only visible part of the man was his ringed hawk-like eyes.

"Oh yeah?" He challenged haughty, but the man didn't take the bait.

"Please sit down Hidan."

Hidan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "How do you know my name?"

"I'll explain, but first sit down." It wasn't quite a command, but it wasn't a suggestion either.

Glaring at the screen, Hidan walked back to the chair, spun it around, and sat. He crossed his arms over his chest, showing his displeasure.

"It's good to see you awake so early," The man noted. "I thought Soren's poison would have kept you out longer than that."

Hidan arched a brow. "You mean the bastard with the needles?"

"Yes."

Soren. That didn't sound right, it was similar, but not the same. The name should be different somehow, yet he couldn't think of what it ought to be. Hidan frowned in puzzlement as an image of the hunched man floated through his thoughts. So familiar.

"We have been monitoring you for sometime Hidan," The voice began to speak. "And to ensure your understanding, I'll trying to explain this as simple as possible."

Hidan scowled. "Are you saying I'm an idiot?"

"Not at all." The silhouette reassured. "The world has simply changed since last you've seen it, and according to the files, we realize that there is a large gap between your past and this present."

"'This…present?'" Hidan questioned and his initial disliking for the shadowy figure grew; it just seemed right for Hidan to be difficult towards the unseen man.

"Surely by now you've realized times have changed-"

"Just spit it out!" Hidan barked at the man irritably, nearly leaping out of the plush chair. He'd been kept isolated for so long with lost knowledge teetering just on the edge of his mind. Hidan was sick of looking for answers, he wanted to know and he wanted to know now; he wanted this bastard to say what he meant and stop his flowery speeches, his patients were wearing very thin.

"Didn't they ever tell you?" The grainy voice asked unfazed.

"Tell me what?" He growled.

"Hidan, according to evidence around the pit you were discovered in, you were buried for centuries, perhaps even longer."

Centuries. That simple word put a damper on his flaring temper. Hidan slouched back into the chair and stared dumbly at the man's ringed eyes. True, he hadn't been able to keep track of the passing time beneath the rocks, but centuries seemed extreme, far too long to have been imprisoned from the world above. No wonder the people swarming around The Pit had looked so strange, the White Coats aside, the people had been weird looking.

"So you see," The voice cut into Hidan's thoughts. "The world_ is_ a bit different then how you last remember it."

"I don't remember it." Hidan spoke bitterly and glared at the carpeted floor.

"Yes, I know. That's why we wish to help you." The man's ringed eyes watched Hidan carefully as he spoke.

"You want to help me," Hidan repeated, still not quite over his former shock. "Why?"

"Because, you're unusual." The voice spoke quickly, feeding Hidan's curiosity. "Your abilities are unique; you would fit well into our ranks."

Despite his best efforts, the scrambled voice could not hide the under laying eager tone, Hidan caught that. He looked up at the hawk-eyed man. '_Because, you're unusual_.' He'd heard that before. His difference made him valuable apparently, or to this man at least. Hidan didn't like playing along, especially if he or his abilities were worth something. This bastard was really starting to get under his skin, he didn't want his help. Hidan's confusion faded slightly, a light smirk began to play about his lips.

"Ranks?" He snorted. "You mean like an organization or something?"

"Yes, my fellow associates and I could be called an organization I suppose..." The voice drawled slightly, noticing their earlier mistake.

"So what, is this like an invitation or something?"

"It can be called that." The man replied carefully.

"Shitty invite, seriously. Locking me in a room too ask me, that's a bit over the top." Hidan sneered at the man, feeling as if he'd won against him.

"Perhaps, but we thought it necessary." The man spoke, turning back to the original matter. "We want to help you Hidan, this new world is a confusing place, and you will need all the help you can get to survive."

"Thanks for the offer and all," Hidan smiled cockily at the man, not having taken in the full meaning of his words. "But I'm going too have to pass." With that said, Hidan stood up. Turing his back to the monitor he walked back toward the door.

"I'm afraid not." The pitchy voice spoke with power. "You see, we are not offering help, we're giving it to you. This is a proposal you cannot refuse Hidan."

At this, Hidan stopped dead and whirled around the face the man on the screen. He glowered at the shadowy face, fully loathing the man with a hatred he didn't quite fully understand. This bastard was dead if he ever got his hands on him.

"I don't want your fucking help." Hidan snarled his lip curled up into a twisted scowl. "You can take it and shove it up your ass for all I care-"

"Do you want to go back?" The distorted voice rose above his; full of such authority even Hidan could not ignore him.

"What do yo-"

"Do you, Hidan?" The man continued to interrupt Hidan. "Back to the hole in the ground where they found you, back to the Laboratory where they used you like a rat?" The threat was all too real.

Hidan opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off again.

"This is your only option Hidan. Either you come with us, or we return you to the hell we helped you escape. What will it be?"

He didn't speak or move for a moment as the seething anger trickled through him. Instead, Hidan glared at the grainy screen with all the detestation he could muster. How dare this man speak to him like he controlled his fate, who did he think he was, God? In Hidan's point of view, this man hardly any different from the White Coats; he was just another hindrance to true freedom. He was just another bastard trying to bend Hidan to his will, and it was working far too well. Clenching his hands into fists, Hidan let out an unsteady breath. There was really only one option. Both Hidan and the jack ass on the screen knew it.

"Fine." He said the word as resentfully as possible.

"Wise choice," The scrambled voice praised. "Demetrius will help you for now."

Hidan hardly heard the door unlock and swing open; he was far too furious and confused to think clearly, everything was a blur. He smacked the hand away as he felt it touch his shoulder. Turning, Hidan came face to face with the young blond.

It was the same man who'd kicked down his door at the Laboratory. He could see the young man closely now, his bright blue eye, mischievous smile, and the chunk of yellow hair that sheltered half his face from sight; that all too familiar nagging sensation fell over Hidan again. Apparently, this young man was named Demetrius, Hidan didn't care anymore. He didn't dwell over why the name felt so wrong, he was too pissed.

"Welcome zu Dawn, un." Demetrius greeted.

Hidan wanted to punch him in the face.


	12. Chapter 11: The Organization

**Author's Note: **Kudos to anyonewho knows were the "read the following aloud" quotes are from.

I don't know, I hate this chapter, yet don't. Something wrong with it, but I can't find the problem…I don't know, I felt the need to update. I'm tired, so there's probably alot of mistakes, my eyes just can't catch'em all, I'm just sick of looking at it. And yeah, I still don't know the different between to and too...

* * *

**Chapter 11**: The Organization 

'_Why is it called Dawn?'_

'_Oh, you know, like ze dawning of a new day. Zis origination will be ze start of ze new world.' _

The dawning of the new world, what a load of shit. Hidan thought to himself as the watched the computer screen. He'd been cooped up in his new room for two months now; sure they let him out, but not for long periods of time. The organization he had unwillingly joined had started the long and tiresome task of catching Hidan up to the modern world. Hidan couldn't understand why they bothered, according to Demetrius, Dawn was trying to begin the world anew, why should he even learn information that might already be considered "old".

**Read the following aloud:**

**The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane.**

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane." Hidan read the words on the screen and sighed, bored to tears.

The first thing the organization had insisted upon was that Hidan learn to communicate properly. Apparently, his language, or Japanese as they called it, wasn't the main language spoken here, English was. So, Hidan had been set in front of this machine and told by Demetrius to follow along; that had been weeks ago. 

Hands down, English had been one of the most confusing things Hidan had every tried to learn. Every word seemed to have a secondary meaning, plurals made no sense, and everything was an endless tangle of nouns, verbs, adjectives, nominatives, accusatives and Jashin knows what else.

Leader -as Hidan had been instructed to call the bastard with the ringed eyes- had been forced to replace the computer monitor twice already. When frustrated, Hidan tended to break anything within reach and that just so happened to be the monitor. 

**Good job.**

The screen read and began to change again. Hidan no idea how the machine was able too hear him and he really didn't care. 

**Read the following aloud:**

**In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen. **

"In Hartford, Hereford, andHampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen." Hidan repeated and yawned. He hated this, but there was no way around it. 

**Good job.**

**Lesson completed.**

"Finally." He muttered and shut the damn thing off.

Propping his feet on the desk, he leaded back in the chair and closed his eyes. Ever since his rescue from the Lab –if it could be called that- all Hidan wanted to do was decide for himself and do as pleased, but that was not the case. Leader had been on his ass the whole time, the bastard acted like he owned him. He was always setting up rules and restrictions that just irked Hidan.

For example, Everyday Hidan had to complete one of these lessons, if not he was forced to stay inside the "base" as it was called. The base was in truth an old hotel, and thus given the title of Sunrise Inn. It had a very cheesy irony about it; Hidan was willing to bet that Sir Leader had come up with the name.

The hotel was actually in working condition, at any even time there were _actual_ consumers coming in and out day and night; they filled up about a third of base. This might sound risky for a building to be housing a secret organization and civilians simultaneously, and it was, but the hotel facade was a steady source of income and a justifiable cover up. It gave onlookers a legitimate reason when they saw people coming and going from the hotel at odd hours. The best hiding spot was in plain sight.

Many modifications had been made to keep the building's true reason hidden. For instance, there were a total of four entrances into the hotel. The main one was for guests while the other three were hidden and reserved for the organization's needs. In addition the hallways that lead to the civilian quarters were very maze like and followed somewhat of a figure eight pattern; they traveled in a circle without ever realizing it. 

There was really no way to access the rest of the building, unless you had a key and the key itself wasn't much use unless you knew the approximate locations of the doors. A catch22 as it were. The interior doors leading to actual base part of the hotel were devilishly hard to find.

All of them had been wallpapered over with that ugly green and pink, it blended into the surrounding wall perfectly unless your eyes could eyes could spot the tiny three inch sliver in the wall. That minuscule little slice was the keyhole. Hidan had watched Demetrious unlock the doors by using a little card strung around his neck; only full member owned a card, so Hidan was unable to travel around at whim.

If someone managed to find one of the godforsaken entrances; they would be spotted by the cameras watching at all times. Hidan had yet to meet the strange reclusive person who operated them. The "spy" as the organization called him, often stayed in the safety of his room, unless he was off on solo missions or training the new subordinate whose name was Tobin or something.

Sunrise Inn was a very strange place, yet reassuring in its way. Hidan couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt oddly relived that he was in this place, regardless of the fact that he had been forced to join. It was a comforting irritation, as if he belong here yet didn't at the same time.

Hidan heard a knock at the door. Cracking open an eye, glanced at the clock on the desk. It was a bit early for someone to be coming. Hidan had long since suspected that there was a camera placed somewhere in his room. He hadn't been able to find the little shit yet, but people always knocked on his door right after he finished his English lesson no matter how soon or late he completed it. It was uncanny.

"What?" He called.

The door swung open, Demetrius's head popped in.

" 'idan," The blond had never been able to pronounce his name correctly, but whenever Hidan mentioned this, Demetrius would make fun of Hidan's own accent in return. Personally, Hidan didn't think he had one, then again he really couldn't hear himself. "Come, we 'ave zu visit someone."

Rising to his feet, Hidan walked towards the door. "Who?"

During his stay at Dawn he'd seen Demetrius the most, he checked up on Hidan at least once everyday and Hidan knew why; Sir Leader was having the blond more or less baby-sit him. It bothered him, but being completely trustworthy was beyond Hidan, and Sir Leader knew it. If given the chance Hidan would try to screw the bastard over, so Demetrius watched him closely. Because of this, Hidan got to see a lot of the blond.

Demetrius was a comforting in his way as well. There was an air of familiarity about him akin to the very sensation Hidan felt from the Sunrise Inn itself. The blond haired man was the spitting image of one of the specters he saw in his dreams.

Aside from Demetrius, Hidan knew of four other active members in Dawn. There was Soren, but he'd only seen the man once after their initial "greeting". Then there was the "spy", Tobin, and Sir Leader. Hidan assumed there were other members, he just hadn't seen them yet, which wasn't surprising considering he'd been busy having the English language forcefully shoved down his throat; he hadn't been out much.

"Et es zime you meet Zack, un." The blond motioned for Hidan to follow him.

Demetrius always spoke English around him even though Hidan knew from experience that he could understand him just fine in Japanese. However, Sir Leader thought it was an excellent opportunity for Hidan to hear others speak; Hidan thought it was really annoying. Demetrius's accent and speech impediment made listening too him difficult. 

After closing the door, Hidan trailed after the small man. It was weird being in these hallways, everything looked the same. The hidden doorways made the halls look extremely vacant and alien as the green and pink wallpaper reproduced the same pattern over and over. 

Hidan figured Demetrius often cheated a bit to find the keyholes to the doors. He always brushed back that lock of hair, exposing the hidden eye beneath. He did that, moments before finding a door. Hidan couldn't help but wonder what Demetrius kept hidden under his hair, and he couldn't help but think he already knew.

He watched Demetrius flick his locks out of the way with mild curiosity, the blond had found it. Stopping at a seemingly random spot on the wall, Demetrius picked up the plastic card hanging around his neck and inserted it into the nearly invisible sliver. Instead of pushing the entrance open though, the blond paused.

"Don't stare at 'im." He whispered to Hidan.

Hidan gave Demetrius a questioning glace, but the blond looked away and pushed the secrete door open. He followed the young man into the room. Hidan had suspected the room would look much like his own, the barest effects possible; however this was not the case. Zack must have been in this organization for quite some time, because otherwise Hidan didn't think such a decoration job possible.

Plants were everywhere. Green as far as the eye could see. As he followed Demetrius deeper, Hidan glanced around in disbelief taking it all in. The room was eerily humid, as if were a living breathing thing. Shafts of green-tinted sunlight filtered through the plastic makeshift windows that had been installed into the ceiling, it was like a jungle.

Rows of potted plants lined metal racks. Having never taken an interest in horticulture, Hidan had no idea what species they all were. The vegetation sprouting out the terracotta pots fanned leaves of all shapes and sizes. Some were in bloom, giving the room a unique scent of floral beauty and musky rot.

Vines had managed to latch themselves onto nearly every surface. They twisted their way around the dozens of potted plants, crawled across the walls, and had begun to weave over the floor. Hidan couldn't tell where one plant ended and another began, he just walked along the beaten path carved through the center of the room. It was a garden gone mad.

"Demetrius!" cried an oddly cheerful voice.

Both Hidan and Demetrius turned to see a young man, face hidden by an organ ski mask waving at them. Oddly enough, the top of the mask had been cut off to allow the man's spiky hair to stick through. Also, there was only one eyehole in the orange fabric. 

"Tobin is so happy too see you!" The young man raised his arms in pure joy. Hidan watched the watering-can Tobin held slosh dangerously back and forth, spilling water on the floor. The young man was watering plants. Hidan sneered at the flowery mud-caked apron Tobin was wearing. 

"Es Zack in, un?" Demetrius spoke quickly, waving the masked man off.

"Uh-huh." Tobin pointed a gloved hand over toward the corner; it was cut off from the rest of the room by a divider, it too was coated in foliage. Before Hidan could walk after Demetrius, Tobin spoke to him. "Oh, so you're the new one?"

"Yeah." Hidan answered nonchalantly.

"Wow, Zack said you were _old_, but I didn't think your hair would be so gray." The young man's voice never once wavered from its friendly tone.

"What?" Hidan hissed. Glaring at the young idiot, his hand became balled into a fist.

" 'idan, " Demetrius called him. "Get over 'ere, un."

Giving Tobin a chilling glare, he turned and walked off. Tobin only waved pleasantly after him, and went back to watering plants.

As Hidan walked behind the divider, he was stunned to see monitors. At least three television screens were anchored onto the wall; the edges of the displays were beginning to become overrun by vines. They watched portions of the empty halls, switching to observe different vacant areas. There was a fourth screen as well, this a time it belonged to a computer. Hidan's eyes then fell onto the man working the plant entangled desk. 

With unhurried movements, the man turned in his office chair and faced them. Hidan's eyes widened considerably at the man's bizarre appearance. The man was split half and half right down the middle. One side of him was pale, almost white, possibly from extensive time indoors. The other division of this body was an abnormal shade of black, it was almost shiny, it wasn't natural. Hidan could spy the ridge that sprouted down the center of the man's face were the sides meet, it seemed as if the black was merely an outer layer that coated half of his body.

As if the man's dueling skin tones weren't strange enough, thin wires and cables stuck out of the black half. The long wires traveled away from him, connecting the machines he operated. The strange man looked up at him; his differently shaped eyes stared at Hidan with a strange sort of watchfulness, as if Hidan were nothing more than prey. Doing the only sensible thing, Hidan gazed back challengingly. 

"Zis es Zack." Demetrius waved a hand toward the strange man, trying to break the silent staring match. " 'e es the one who 'elped us find you, un."

Zack only grunted in response. Turning back around, he began to type with acute speed on the keyboard. Hidan gave Demetrius a puzzled look, the blond only shrugged back.

"Sir Leader wants to double check the data on you," Zack spoke, his voice level. "_**He must think you did something wrong**_…It's always good to check." His tone wavered between the two strains of thought. 

At this weird speech pattern, Hidan gave another meaningful towards Demetrius, but the blond didn't look at him. His blue eye didn't even move from the screen.

"Is something wrong, Hidan?" Zack asked calmly.

Hidan's eyes snapped quickly back to Zack, he hadn't realized the man had turned around.

"Eh…no." 

"_**Good**_." Zack muttered darkly and once again faced his computer monitor.

Zack proceeded to launch into a monotonous session of inquiry. He asked Hidan questions similar to the ones the White Coats had. Hidan answered them all more or less truthfully, usually giving the age-old repetitive response of 'I don't know'. Zack would then type something into his files. This little meeting didn't last for long though.

"Alright, just one last thing." Zack said and spun his chair around.

With surprisingly fast reflexes, Zack whipped out a pair of tweezers. Hidan barely had time to blink before the man plucked one of the hairs from his head.

"What was that for!" Hidan stumbled back, not wanting the strange man to attack him with tweezers again.

Zack didn't reply at first, instead he simply placed the sliver hair into a container. Closing it, he handed it off to Demetrius.

"Give that to Soren," He's plain voice spoke before turning back around once more. "He'll extract what we need."

Demetrius nodded and began to walk away. "Come on 'idan."

"No, no, no," Hidan spoke quickly, focusing his attention on to Zack "Why the hell did you do that?"

"_**Leader will explain later if he sees fitting**_…It's a back up plan…_**Shut up, he'll learn later, why should we tell him**_…I was just trying to help!"

As Hidan watched the strange conversation, he found he didn't care why Zack had taken his hair in the first place, not if that was the reaction the received. Giving the Zack one last look, Hidan snorted and took time behind the blond, he'd just have to wait for that dumbass of a leader to tell him. They passed Tobin on the way to the door.

"Bye Demetrius! Bye Old Man!" He called excitedly after them, waving happily.

"Fuck you." Hidan muttered under his breath.

They had almost exited, when a crash came from behind them. Apparently, the watering-can Tobin had been holding had knocked over a planter. Glancing back, he saw Tobin standing over a broken pot, dirt spilling out of the sides.

"Sorry Zack!" Tobin wailed, clumsily trying to clean up the mess.

"It's ok," The monotone voice replied. "_**Watch what you're doing, you idiot**_."

Closing the door behind him, Hidan shook his head. Once again he was over taken by the peculiar feeling that he'd experienced this before. Like he was an outsider reviewing scenes he already lived. It was all too familiar, yet not at the same instant. Every time he saw them, he felt strangely reassured that he should be here, but Hidan couldn't help but think that he was lying to himself.

"Hey, Demetrius,"

"Un?" The blond stopped walking and looked back at him.

"What's, uh, you know…with Zack." Hidan asked unsure how to word it.

"Oh, 'is appearance?" Demetrius asked knowingly and started walking again. Hidan easily kept pace beside him. The blond was rather short; Demetrius had to take two steps too match one of Hidan's.

"Yeah, that."

"Well, Zack es a lot like you." Demetrius shrugged. " 'e was saved and taken 'ere, un."

"From the same place?" Hidan was curious; usually the blond was willingly answered most of his questions. In fact Demetrius seemed rather open most of the time.

"I would't know. Zat was before I came 'ere." So Hidan had been right, Zack had been here for a while. "All I know es zat 'e es an experiment. Zat black over 'im, zat es called New Skin, un."

Hidan listened carefully as Demetrius spoke. It was really difficult to understand him at times. Hidan doubted his own accent cluttered his speech that badly.

"New Skin?"

"Oui, et was made zu make man able zu link wit' computers…"

As Demetrius began explaining, Hidan learned that Zack had previously entered into a government funded program and had been fitted with the invention that was New Skin. The idea was too make the wearer able to link directly with technology, just like Hidan had witnessed Zack doing in his room. It made the user able to interpret, write, and attack computer codes far faster and more accurately than by hand. It was created to make an elite hacker, and internet spy. However, the program failed.

Problems arose; those fitted with New Skin began developing server side effects. The volunteers began to turn into something not quite human; the New Skin transform at a fast rate, almost like a leach feeding off a host. 

Those who survived the unexpected growth began having homicidal or suicidal tendencies, created split personalities, felt the need to collect bizarre things, see illusions, and in some cases developed cannibalistic urges. Demetrius rattled off the list rapidly like a medical ad; he'd probably asked the same question not too long ago himself.

"So, ze program was a failure, un." Demetrius shrugged. "Zack es one of ze last ones now. He chose zu be in Dawn, I tink 'e likes es 'ere."

Hidan nodded, not quite sure if he got all that. With Demetrius though, it was just best just nod your head and go along with whatever he said, he became offended easily. The blond had a very short fuse actually. 

"So he chose to be here, did you?" Hidan asked, remembering how he had been forced into the organization.

"No," The blond mumbled bitterly. That surprised Hidan, he'd found some common ground.

Demetrius stopped suddenly; Hidan hadn't noticed him flick his hair out of the way. Inserting the card strung around his neck into the sliver, the blond opened the hidden door. This was the room both he and Soren shared.

"Hey Maître." He called, sticking his head into the unlit room. "Maître?" he paused, no answer. Flipping on the light he looked around. "Huh, 'e not 'ere, un."

---

Shuffling down the empty hallway, Soren was unaware that his partner was looking for him. Instead, he watched for the telltale slice in the wallpaper. Once found, it was difficult both opening and entering the hidden door. His rounded exterior was able to squeeze through the doorway after a little forcing.

As expected, the room was drenched in a sort of prevailing darkness; Leader had never really taken a fancy to the light. The man took had an odd liking for cloudy stormy days, he said it brought the winds of change. Soren moved across the floor, heading towards the long desk and the outline of a man that sat behind it.

"You're very keen on wearing that shell of yours, Soren" The shadowy man spoke.

"Best to be careful," Soren replied. They said this to each other every time; it was a small safety measurement. "I have the ring."

Opening a small compartment, Soren's true hand snaked out of the protective movable armor he wore, and placed the small trinket atop the man's desk, before slipping back inside. The old and tarnished ring was then picked up and inspected by the leader. He turned it over in his hand curiously. 

While ransacking and destroying the Laboratory, Soren had managed to pick up a few things the scientists had been working on. This ring had been discovered on Hidan's severed left hand, index finger to be exact. It had been removed after it's unearthing and had been passed through the White Coat's hands and now to Dawn.

"Zack and I found nothing new. The best ve can figure is dat the symbol and the kanji combined mean santai, or "three levels"." Soren summed up quickly.

"That's all?"Leader asked.

"Ja, oh and it's very old of course." A patronizing edge cut into his hoarse voice, but quickly vanished. Soren had some lingering respect for the man. "Are you going to give it to him?"

"Hum, no I don't believe so." Leader thought aloud as he played with the ring between his fingers. "There's no point really, he belongs to us now. Any memories of a previous life should be forgotten;" He opened the top right drawer of his desk and dropped the ring in. "It's better for everyone that way."

Taking out a brass key from his brestpocket, he locked the little drawer. 


	13. Chapter 12: Et es zime

**Author's Note:** Ok, quotes were from _My Fair Lady_ when Henry Higgins is try to teach Eliza proper English. I just thought they worked. Thank you for your sweet reviews and thank you Jen the Idiot for helping me proofread. This is kind of a filler...

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**Chapter 12: **Et es zeim

Sleep, he enjoyed it more now than he ever had, he took great pleasure it in. It wasn't laziness per-say, it was an escape. The blankness of slumber was comforting; his dreams were comforting. A world existed in his murky imaginings, nothing more than swirling colors and words, but they lived nevertheless. A thin vale of certainty touched them, making the partial dreams as real as anything that existed in the waking world.

He was convinced the blurry faces were real. Though they had dimmed, he recognized them; the faces of his previous dreams, the ones wrapped in red and black and trimmed with shadows. Their eyes still glowed, particularly the tall man's, like jade embers.

"_I know who you are, but I can't remember yo-"_

"'Idan!"

Hidan jerked awake at the sound of him name. He opened his eyes slowly only to see Demetrius's clear-blue iris staring directly at him. Apparently, the blond had let himself in; then again he always did. Groaning, Hidan buried his face into the pillow, wanting nothing more than sleep, knowing he could still catch the thread of his recent dream.

"Go away," he grumbled, lazily batting a hand at the blond to ward him off. It didn't work.

"Come on, get up, un," Demetrius said and shook his shoulder roughly.

"Naw, I'm good as is, seriously," Hidan mumbled tiredly and held tightly onto his pillow.

"'Idan, I'm not kidding." Demetrius's voice grew serious. "Up, now!"

Hidan shifted his face and he glared up at Demetrius, disliking the blond's tone of voice. All tiredness left him. "Why, the fuck should I?" Hidan asked testily.

"Because, Leader wants zu see you, un."

There was a moment of silence in which Hidan looked at the blond. He arched a silver brow wondering if Demetrius really thought he gave a damn about what Leader wanted.

"So?" And with that said, Hidan lay back down, completely prepared to ignore the blond glaring down at him.

Hidan had the odd ability to say even the simplest of statements in the most arrogant and irritating way possible. At one point of time, he may have realized the effect his attitude had on others, but time makes the senses dull. Consequently, Hidan was unaware of just how quickly he could agitate people, namely the young man stand over him, so it came as a complete surprise when Hidan felt his body jolt forward, nearly falling off the bed from Demetrius's kick.

Hidan struggled to untangle himself from the sheets so he could sit up. Rubbing the sore spot on his back, Hidan turned to glower at Demetrius. The young blond stood his ground, his blue eye never once wavering away.

"Ow," Hidan finally said after a time, massaging the bruising skin. "Alright, alright, I'm up." Standing up, he moved toward the bathroom. "You don't have to be such a dick about it."

During his time at Dawn, Hidan's day usually followed a routine. He would wake up (usually on his own terms), complete his English lesson, and then pray. Hidan was determined to never forget the grace of his beloved lord ever again, therefore trying to appease his god as often as possible.

Since Leader didn't permit him to run free outside the base, Hidan was still unable to make any human sacrifices, so he had to use his own blood. It wasn't as though he had a problem with this; on the contrary he rather enjoyed it. The only problem was that the loss of blood left him tired afterwards and cleaning up was a bit difficult as well. In fact, he still had some caked on his chest from his prayers the previous night.

"Gimme, like, ten minutes," Hidan said and slammed the bathroom door closed behind him.

Demetrius nodded, knowing full well that Hidan was lying through his teeth and wouldn't be out for quite sometime. He sighed. Hidan was impossible at times. Rolling his visible eye in annoyance, Demetrius looked around the room. Hidan still hadn't really done anything to it since he'd first arrived, which was just as well. Once he was assigned a partner, he'd probably move in with them.

Leader was very strict about the partner system, and it seemed to work more often than not. Soren was a decent partner in most aspects, even though they could never agree. Although Demetrius would never admit it, he enjoyed having a fellow artist to work with, even if his Maître was completely mistaken about what true art really was.

Usually the partner system worked well, but every now and then, however, it ended poorly. Soren's run away partner Owen was an example; once you were in Dawn you didn't leave alive, but the slimy snake managed to slither off some how. Then there was the miserly accountant who murdered all his partners out of sheer rage. Although the two-man teams Leader made rarely saw eye to eye, they were created to keep each member of the team alive, not to be killed off by the other when convenient. Demetrius kept his distance from the accountant, and felt glad to have Soren as partner. At least his Maître never went through with his threats.

Demetrius gazed around the undecorated room. It felt empty and lifeless, not lived in at all. The only sign that someone actually resided here was Hidan's unmade bed. What a strange man. Hidan was crude, crass, and seemingly immortal; definitely strange enough to fit right in at Dawn.

Leader seemed rather desperate to have Hidan initiated, though. Personally, Demetrius thought the immortal should be quarantined longer. Yes, the man had a good grasp on the language, but times were different. If Hidan was truly as ancient as Zack's sources said, he had an immense gap to fill between now and then.

The immortal had literally been under a rock for centuries. Demetrius was astonished at how quickly Hidan took to the modern day, but he still seemed so alien, as he rightfully should. Surly a few more months wouldn't hurt; if Hidan had a mental collapse from shock that would cause major problems. However, Leader seemed willing to risk such a crisis. He wanted Hidan to be active as soon as possible. Demetrius hoped Hidan's new partner would be able to handle him.

Hidan was a strange man, and Demetrius himself had been in a situation like Hidan's not too long ago. He'd been a terrorist for hire, freely running rampaging around France, until Dawn had caught up with him and forcibly changed his ways. He rubbed the inside of his wrist in thought, fingers feeling the raised lines of skin.

Breaking from his daydreaming, Demetrius glanced at the clock on the computer desk. It had been fifteen minutes. Sighing, Demetrius sat on the bed, bored. When he sat however, the bed crunched beneath him, and the sheets crackled and pulled. Quickly he stood up, only to find a large rusty stain on the white sheet. His jaw slacked a bit.

His camera lens then saw the dried black droplets leading from the bed to the floor. He followed them until they disappeared under the green rug. Hesitating slightly at the sight he might find, Demetrius yanked back the rug, his eye widened.

Hidden under the mat, Demetrius had unearthed a large symbol, a triangle within a circle, painted on the floor. It was thick and messily smeared in what looked like…no it was just too gross. True, he had seen the same mark painted on the walls of Hidan's prison, but this just too much.

"The 'ell!" he exclaimed loudly. "'Idan, get out 'ere!"

From inside the bathroom Hidan heard the blond's shouts, though he was somewhat hard to hear over the running water of the shower.

"What?" he called back, trying to rinse the soap out of his hair.

"Get out 'ere!" Demetrius called again.

"Fuck, now what?"

Shutting the water off, he wrapped a towel loosely around his waist. Opening the door a smidge, Hidan stuck his head out to the glare at the blond. His sopping wet hair dripped onto the floor.

"Well?" Hidan asked irritably. He could feel cold air snaking around his feet and into the bathroom, replacing all the warm steam.

He watched as the blond tugged the rug clean off the floor, showing the emblem of Jashin beneath. Demetrius jabbed a finger at the symbol, like a mother scolding a child, though Hidan didn't see why the blond was throwing such a shit-fit.

"Es zat all blood, un?" Demetrius demanded.

Hidan rolled his eyes at the obviousness of the question. "Yeah, what the hell did you think it was?"

The blond sighed in exasperation. "'Idan, you can't do zis."

"Its part of the dogma, I have too." Hidan hated having to explain this to outsiders of the faith, heathens just didn't understand. "I did it all the time at the Lab and they didn't give a shit, seriously." Hidan gestured around the room, pleading his case. "Besides, you saw the inside of my walls."

"Oui, but I just zought you were crazy," Demetrius muttered. "Well zis is not zay Lab, you are going zu have zu clean zis up." The blond shrugged and tossed the mat down, not caring where it fell. "Zis isn't your room you know, 'Idan, you will be given a new one soon, un."

"Seriously?" Hidan asked, running a hand through his hair, which slicked back the damp strands.

Demetrius gave a nod. "Zat is why I was sent 'ere zis morning. Leader says et es zime you were emitted fully, un."


	14. Chapter 13: Pink and Green

**Author's Note: **I've reread this a few times and my proofreader reader has as well, but please let me know if you find any mistakes, I will fix them immediately.

Well I've been getting questions about this, sort of. Dawn is just the re-embodiment more or less of the original Akatsuki. The name Dawn just seemed to fit because when broken down Akatsuki means "daybreak", so yes I'm quite original (lulz).

As of their status, they're an evil organization; I really haven't taken time to consider their whole involvement in the world around them really, I will have to get on that though. Also, I didn't plan on have an Odyssey reference, but if that's what you interpreted, I feel flattered that you took time to analyze my fanfiction. So, well, thank you guys, enjoy the chapter.

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**Chapter 13: **Pink and Green

The room was abnormally dark; this was first thing Hidan noticed as he followed Demetrius into the Leader's chamber. The second; that despite the fact that there were a total of four people in the room –including Demetrius and himself- the actual Leader was suspiciously absent.

His magenta eyes traveled from the blue-haired woman seated in the chair beside the wooden desk to Zack standing by himself in the corner of the dim room. The hacker looked out of place. He kept muttering inaudibly to himself, fingering the empty outlets and sockets imbedded on the black half of his face; clearly not comfortable being away from his sheltered greenhouse of a room.

The door closed softly behind them and the room became even shadier. Was it too much to ask to turn on a light? Hidan scuffed at the gloom, and folded his arms.

"So where is the dumbass?" he asked demandingly.

The woman's heavily painted eyes narrowed slightly in distain, the gum she was chewing cracking in her mouth. She stood, surprisingly tall, and walked over to the desk. Hidan wasn't able to see exactly what she did next, but he heard a faint clicking sound, like something being released from a compartment. A little ledge rose from the center of the desk, flat and thin. The woman rotated it around so the black shiny screen faced them. It was a small television monitor.

She pressed the small glowing red button on its bottom with a neatly painted fingernail and the small light became a brilliant green. The screen popped and fizzled to life. Wavy lines of distortion weaved their away across the display.

"He's arrived Sir."

With her duty done, the woman retuned to her seat.

"Thank you, Korina." The grainy voice filtered through the speaker. A dark outline appeared on the screen, the same silhouette Hidan had seen previously. "Hello, Hidan. I'm sorry that I could not be here in person, I have a few other matters to attend to."

Hidan scowled at the man on the monitor, glaring with an underlying defiance at Leader's ringed eyes. "What did you want?"

"Well, that ought to be obvious, Demetrius had probably told you a little already." Despite the poor quality of the speakers, Leader's voice was just as calm and collected as before. "It is time you became a full member."

"Uh-huh, that so?" Hidan replied, shifting his weight from foot to foot as if bored.

"We have decided to induct you today," As Leader spoke; Hidan noticed he always said "we" instead of "I", as if it were a unanimous agreement. "Your abilities are needed as soon as possible."

Hidan gave a hum, deliberately not paying attention to the man. He began to clean the dried blood out from under his nails. How that shit always stayed their way beyond him.

"'Idan, at least try zu look like you are paying attention, un." Demetrious whispered, and nudged him in the ribs sharply.

"I am fucking paying attention, it's not my fault he's boring as shit!" he barked, directing his anger at the blond.

Trying to subdue the sudden outburst, Leader chimed in. "I'm sorry if you find me boring Hidan, but this is important. So, for the sake o-"

"Oh cut the prim and proper act!" Hidan cried, voice becoming louder. "All I ever hear is that my abilities are fucking unique and special or some other shit like that. Tell me what you mean for once, damnit! Why am I here?!"

It was silent in the room for a moment, save for Hidan's ragged breathing. He glared furiously at the man, chest heaving with pent-up rage. His body was crouched, ready to attack the mechanical screen.

"You want to honest truth?" Leader asked voice unsettlingly composed.

"Yes."

"In all openness, Hidan, I think it is far too soon to induct you fully. Your attitude has made that painfully clear. However," Leader paused gathering his thoughts. "Your immortality has made you the perfect match for another member of ours. To put it simply, I would rather see you mobile than him going partnerless."

Hidan slowly uncurled his posture, his anger dissipated. "So what? I'm just useful?"

The shadowy outline gave a shallow nod.

A small smirk twitched along his lips. "Dude, that's all you had to say from the start, seriously."

Leader gazed at Hidan, knowing full well that he had told the immortal that earlier; Hidan simply hadn't bothered too listen. Hidan, with his temper flaring in and out of balance, was going to be more of a handful than he'd first thought. Absently, Leader wondered whether or not Hidan had acted like this before his confinement centuries before. Had he always overreacted so easily?

"Yes, well. Now, that there is no more confusion, would you please roll up your sleeve Hidan? Left arm." Leader asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

Hidan did so, exposing his abnormally pale arm. The skin was seamless, absolutely unmarred by time and armaments, apparently one of the perks of immortality. One would think after some many years alive, he would have scars, at least one.

When Soren and Demetrius had originally brought Hidan to Sunrise Inn, he had had a gash across his one wrist, his left to be exact. They said he had been drawling symbols on the walls in his own blood. The slash had been deep when the first saw him, but by the time the duo had delivered Hidan to the hotel, the deep wound had become a nasty scar.

This scar was no longer there, the skin was smooth and unblemished, like fresh parchment. There was no trace that the wound ever existed. Leader had suspected that Hidan's body would heal flawlessly; after all he bared no marks from his body being connected after he'd been reassembled. It was obvious that they would be unable to mark him as one of them on his flesh.

"Have you ever tried to give yourself a permanent mark?" Leader's gritty voice buzzed suddenly, asking the very question he'd answered in his own mind.

"Yeah, lots of times." It was truthful response.

"Your body healed every time I'm guessing?" He gave the immortal time to reply with a yes.

"Yeah." Hidan muttered.

"Well then, Korina, I don't think we'll need your expertise today." On the screen, the man's ringed eyes tilted to the side, as though he could see the blue-haired woman sitting there. He knew she had brought the kit; this was his way of telling her it was unneeded.

"Pity." She hummed in a colorless voice.

The silhouette's hawk-like eyes flicked back onto Zack. The strange man had been standing there, silent the whole time. "Zack do we have another option?"

"The system has been modified to verify Hidan's identify through another method." Zack spoke simply and methodically.

"Very good," Leader look to Hidan now. "Hidan, because of your advanced healing we are unable to mark you as one of us, but at a moments notice, will you be able to give a sample of your DNA?"

"Like…?" Hidan drawled.

"Blood?"

A smile crossed Hidan's lips. "Not a problem."

Beside him, Demetrius rolled his visible eye, recounting the large bloody circle on Hidan's bedroom floor.

"Good," As Leader spoke; Zack began to move forward unhurriedly. "Then, Hidan, congratulations. You are a full member."

Zack held out his white hand, lying on his palm was a little plastic card, the same kind Demetrius used to open the hidden doors. Hidan plucked it from the waiting hand.

He felt no joy or excitement as he looked at the card up close. In fact, Hidan really didn't feel much of anything. He didn't protest as Demetrius grabbed his arm and forcibly lead him out of Leader's ominous room and into the brightly lit hallway. He simply stared at the tag with empty eyes, feeling suddenly very lost and very alone.

--

Massaging his forehead, he turned off the camera on his laptop. Closing the lid, he placed the machine on the nightstand beside him. He could feel the other watching him, fixing him with a heavy gaze as he finally looked up. Sighing, he gave a halfhearted shrug.

"He's going to be difficult."

"Of course, but he won't be ours to watch over, not fully anyway," the other replied, turning away and gazing through the tear-streaked window to the raining world outside. "Why do you insist on having him call you Leader? Do you find humor in the title, Punish?"

Punish frowned. Although he couldn't see the man's mouth through his orange mask, he knew he was smiling, probably just a mockingly as his voice hinted.

"There's not need for Hidan to know my name. Leader will work for him, he accepts it." Punish gave another heavy sigh, back slouching into the leather chair, wishing his angel was by his side, not this madman who ordered him about. "He needs more time Sir, both you and I know that."

A small mirthless chuckle escaped from the masked man. "And we both know that he'll never improve. He's a relic; older than I am, there's bound to be mental baggage." The man's gloved fingers tapped the glass pane. "With any luck, his memories won't resurface fully. After so many centuries, I doubt he'll find anything similar to his pervious life, whatever it may have been."

Punish shook his head doubtfully and ran a hand through his auburn locks. " Still…"

"Punish, you said it yourself, he should not be allowed to run around without a partner. Unlike Hidan, he's not immortal…despite how hard he tries." The masked man turned his head, his single eye shining sinisterly. "Call him; he should have collected his bounty by now, its time he returned to the base."

"Yes Sir."

Taking out his cell phone, Punish flipped it open and began to dial.

--

"You're a jerk, un!" Demetrius growled and punched Hidan hard in the shoulder. Surprisingly, the blond had a good right-hook. Hidan popped his shoulder back into place with a loud crack.

"What the fuck was that for?" he asked, the pain dragging him back to reality. They were standing in the hallway in front of Demetrius's room. Hidan hadn't noticed they'd walked this far, he'd been too consumed with his own thoughts.

"You turned on me in zere!" Demetrius shot him a glare. "You 'eally are a crazy bastard, un."

"Dude, its not my fault Leader was pissing me off, seriously!" Hidan spoke defensively, throwing his hands out, the plastic card almost flying out of his grasp.

"Whatever, and zu tink I was going zu celebrate wit' you." Demetrius snorted indignantly, unlocking the door he began to push on the secret opening.

"Celebrate? Why the hell would I do that?"

The blond stopped halfway in the entrance. He whipped around, golden hair swishing dramatically around his face.

"You are a member now, oui?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah." Hidan replied playing along.

"Well, I was going zu take you out of ze building, you know, do someting nice." Demetrius twirled his hands in the air for emphasis.

"Why?" Hidan asked, completely lost. It was very difficult trying to follow the blond's train of thought. His mind was so flighty and indecisive it was hard of understand Demetrius's conversations.

"Because," Demetrius answered as if it were obvious. "Zis place es a shit 'ole, trust me I know, un. So, I was going zu do someting, but oh well…" The blond shrugged and began to close the door.

Hidan quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion. If it weren't for Demetrius's lack of breasts, he would have honestly thought the blond was a woman with the way he acted sometimes. Reaching out, Hidan propped the door open.

"Dude, okay whatever, seriously." Hidan gestured down the hall. "Let's go then."

Demetrius looked at him sternly. Despite his rapidly changing thoughts, the blond could really hold a long lasting grudge. He was very temperamental. The blond shrugged after a moment, having made up his mind.

"Come in, I 'ave zu get someting before we go." He said walking into the room.

Hidan nodded, and followed Demetrius in a little ways. He was instantly struck by how diversely the room was organized. It was very apparent that two people very diverse people lived in the same room because it was split down the middle, quite literally in half. Nothing about to the two sides intermixed at all. It was almost creepy how the room was severed.

Demetrius's side had sort of a chaotic creativity to it. It was messy, but it fit him, it felt lived in. Pictures of animals -mostly birds- had been thumb-tacked all over his wall. Next to each was a sketch of the photographed animal, only slightly different, it was a blueprint. Demetrius was crafting likenesses of these animals. Hidan spied the row of figurines, part clay part metal lying on his desk. Nature and machine intertwined.

Compared to Demetrius's side, Soren's seemed far more alien, artificial almost. Everything was placed in neat rows, everything was orderly and neat. It was so perfectly organized, it was scary. Tools of all shapes and sizes hung absolutely straight from nails in the wall. Apparently he worked with them, but on what Hidan was unsure.

He assumed whatever Soren was working on was one of the lumps lying on the floor. One was shaped like a half circle and had black cloth covering it. The other had white sheets, oddly stained with grease and oil, draped over it. It looked far more body-shaped than the first. He moved curiously toward the second.

"Demetrius?" Hidan asked.

"Oui?" the blond replied while stuffing something into a canvas bag.

"What is this?" He nudged the white sheet with his foot.

Demetrius turned his head briefly; his blue eye fell onto the strange lump. He gave a small shrug before shoving an empty bottle into his bag, not seeming particularly interested.

"Oh, zat. I don't know. Maître never told me exactly." The blond pointed a finger toward the black covered semi-circular shape. "You can try zu ask 'im if you want, un."

Hidan's eyes fell onto the black shape, he looked at it incredulously. That couldn't be Soren, could it? Hidan remembered back to his unprompted "jail-break" from the Lab. He remembered the hunched back with the needles. The man had been rather circular come to think of it.

"He's been in here the whole time?" Hidan asked.

"Oui, but 'e ignores me a lot, as you can see, un." Demetrius mouth twisted into a frown.

At that, the black body shuttered to life. The bulky frame slowly began to rotate gingerly, as if he were afraid to knock something over. Hidan's eyes widened as he saw Soren's masked face and narrowed lifeless eyes turning to face him. Yes, this truly was the same bastard who'd had a hand in rescuing him. He'd only seen Soren once since then, but it had only been his hulking back retreating down the hallway.

Soren's clothing had been different in those previous sightings too. He had worn a long jacket, the sleeves had hung empty at his sides. The black cloth now replaced his former clothes, which was why Hidan had failed too notice him before.

"If you bothered to say something interesting, I vouldn't ignore you, Brat." The gruffly voice echoed frankly from the hunchback. The glassy eyes locked onto Hidan. "So you vant to see vhat is under the sheet, ja?"

"Sure…" Hidan answered, his gaze shifted between Soren and Demetrius.

"Vell den, lift it up."

So Hidan did. "The fuck?" the words escaped his lips as he took in the sight.

The thing resembled a human in the sense that it had a head and arms, but that was as far as the similarities went. Its body looked like it was made of metal in parts; nuts and blots held its four arms in place, but it had no legs as of yet, the body stopped abruptly at the waistline.

Its face had a slightly feminine appearance; its red lips were parted so that its gaping mouth was able to open as long as its head was wide. Between its jagged teeth wires flowed, coiling onto the floor. It was unfinished. After all, it only had one eye looking unseeingly up at Hidan.

"You 'ave so many Maître, I don't see why you make more, un." Demetrius said, shouldering his bag.

"You just don't understand Demetrius." Soren muttered before turn back to Hidan. "So vhat do you think?"

"What the hell is it?" Hidan asked, dropping the sheet. Somehow ,though, Hidan felt he already knew the answer to the question he'd just asked.

"It's a humanoid robot of course," Soren spoke as if it were obvious. "A mechanical puppet."

"Seriously, looks like a hunk of junk to me." Hidan's lips curled into a snide smile.

"It's not finished yet," Soren's voice became dark, clearly angered by Hidan's remark. "True art takes time."

"Art?" Hidan gave a chuckle. "That's art?"

Soren became gravely still, in all this time he hadn't blinked once. His very aura was seething with contempt. He turned away from Hidan, his angry eyes directed onto Demetrius. Hidan had the strangest feeling he knew what was going to happen next, and that he'd had a hand in starting it.

"Brat, take this idiot out of here. You two have disturbed me long enough."

Demetrius gave a small sigh. "Maître, just because 'e doesn't 'ave your same views-"

"Get out of here Brat." The puppeteer wasn't willing to listen to the blond's reasoning.

"Art came be different tings!"

"No, art is eternal."

"Et can also be fleeting!"

Hidan watched as the argument commenced, feeling as though he'd witnessed it before. The artists argued heatedly, digging up the same old disagreement they always had. The artists' quarrel didn't interest Hidan in the slightest; he didn't give a shit about art. He wondered how the two managed to coexist in such a small space, but then again he really didn't care, he just wanted to get going. The outside would was a hell of a lot more interesting than this split room.

"Look, Maître, I respect you but yo-" Demetrius tried talking on the hunched man, but was cut off.

"Vhy vould I vant your respect?" Soren spat heatedly. "You're nothing, your art is nothing, it has no meaning! You're just an ungrateful Brat!"

"And your puppets are any better?" Demetrius replied hotly. "You Nazi!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Hidan cut in, gaining Demetrius's attention. However, Soren refused to look at him. "Can we get going, seriously?"

The blond let out an unsteady breath, trying to calm himself. Gathering himself to full unimpressive height, Demetrius turned away sharply from his Maître, giving him the cold shoulder so it seemed.

"Oui, I 'ave everyting, un."

The blond strode from the room quickly with Hidan in pursuit. The immortal could sense the rage coming from Demetrius, so Hidan chose not to press the subject of art right now. He knew why the artists had been arguing; after all they had been shouting it at each other. No, Hidan didn't care about that; he was far more concerned as to why he knew they would argue about it. Their disagreement, for lack of a better word, felt right.

Demetrius moved through the hallway quickly and quietly, too quietly. Thus, Hidan felt compelled to speak, less the silence drag on.

"Demetrius?"

"Un?" The blond's reply was snappy, still ready to fight.

"At the meeting today, what did Leader mean by being unable to mark me as one of you or something?" By now, Hidan had a feeling that Leader did nothing pointlessly, there was a reason for everything he said, whether it was obvious or not.

"You heal zu fast," Demetrius answered, voice calming a little. "Korina can't tattoo ze code onto your arm, un."

"So, what, every member has a code on their arm?"

Demetrius nodded. "Oui." The blond rolled up his sleeve a little and held his wrist out to the side, allowing Hidan to see. On the center of the smooth skin, a little black barcode had been tattooed into the flesh, forever making Demetrius as a member of Dawn. "Everyone but you." There was a little underlying envy in the blond's voice.

The young bomber had been marked for life; he belonged to the organization now, and felt he had little to no hope of escaping; just like a little bird in a cage. Hidan felt he could understand the resentment Demetrius harbored for Dawn, however it appeared the young artist viewed Hidan's situation will a hint of envy. After all the Hidan hadn't been visibly marked, however the immortal was just as trapped, though Demetrius failed to see this. Something far stronger than a mark held Hidan captive here.

"What the hell does it even do?" Hidan asked.

The blond shrugged, taking his arm back and folding down the sleeve. "Opens doors, un."

More doors? Was everything in this place under lock and key? Hidan rolled his eyes, scowling as he followed the small boomer down the maze-like hallway. He watched as the same pattern was created again and again. It was always the same, hardly any variation. Round and round it went, repeating perhaps forever…did the wallpaper ever end? He followed Demetrius, pink and green print flowing into each other over and over.

Pink and Green.

Again and again…

--

The phone in the hotel's nightstand buzzed, creating an empty hollow sound as it vibrated against the cheap wood. Instantly, the man's green eyes were focused onto the little screen that lit up. The number was unknown, like it always was.

With a flick of his wrist, he held the phone to his ear.

"Ah, I wondered when you would call." The accountant spoke into the phone, shuffling through the papers that lined the hotel with his free hand. "Listen, the bounty ended well, so I'm-"

"_Return to base now, we'll discuss financial matters later_." Leader's voice came through loud and clear.

"Couldn't it wait?" He asked gruffly, hating being interrupted.

"_No,_"Leader's voice was final."_Return now, that's an order._"

Before he could get a word in edge wise, the connection ended abruptly. Leader wanted him to return to Sunrise, and it sounded important. That could mean only one thing: there was a new partner waiting for him once again. He sighed heavily and began to shuffle the papers into order, packing them carefully into his briefcase.


	15. Chapter 14: The River

**Chapter 14:** The River

**Author's note: **In all honestly, I only have a very vague idea where this story is heading. I know how I want it to end, because I created the ending before even beginning to write the story leading up to it. Basically what I'm trying to say is, I have no clue what the fuck I'm doing.

This is the exact reason why Dawn doesn't really have a set goal (But yeah, good old Kishimoto doesn't seem to have much of a "set" plan for the Akatsuki either.) However, I'm very very grateful to my readers and reviewers, thank you guys for putting up with my shenanigans. Yell if there are any mistakes and I'll fix them.

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The hallway opened suddenly, and emptied out like a tributary into the foyer. The lobby was a circular room, shaped somewhat like an oval, with two hallways extending from it. All pedestrians were herded to the right hall, all members to the left. Each direction looked absolutely identical, save for the fact that doorknobs and wooden doors were clearly visible in the pedestrian hall.

Demetrius's was still brooding over his spat with Soren, but the blond was far calmer than before. Hidan followed the artist as he walked toward the receptionist's desk, and instantly recognized the woman behind it, the blue hair was a dead giveaway; Korina. The woman looked just as emotionless and rigid as before, her painted eyes looked down at the little blond with disinterest.

Apparently, it was her duty to welcome visitors while making sure all non-members didn't go down the wrong hallway. Korina must have traveled directly here from the meeting. No wonder she had beaten them here, she hadn't witnessed the artist's fight.

"And where exactly are you two going?" She asked, tapping her decorated nails on the wooden desk.

"Out, un. We'll be back soon enough."

Korina gave a small mummer as she thought. "I see, did Leader give you permission to leave base?"

Demetrius shrugged casually. "Not exactly, but ze river es not zat far."

"Oh, more "art" then…" Korina said, and gave a nod toward the doors, signaling that they could go. "Just don't get caught, we have enough police hanging around without your help."

A playful smirk grew on Demetrius's lips. "Oh, poor Korina, stuck behind zis desk all day." He leaned an elbow on the desktop, his smile became wolfish. "You should come with us, un…you'll 'ave a good zime." His richly accented voice became as smooth and debonair as possible.

It seemed that Demetrius fancied himself a bit of a ladies man. Korina's face however did not shift from its emotionless state. Instead she raised a finger, pointing toward the double doors. "Get going."

The blond's face fell, ego visibly wounded. Hidan gave a snicker as Demetrius walked away in defeat; this just wasn't the artist's day. Once beyond the doors, the smirking immortal looked down at the blond.

"Shot down."

"Oh, shut up 'Idan!"

--

After sliding the plastic card into the slot, Tobin pushed open the door to Zack's room. The instant he entered the humid damp air clung about, inclosing him in a musky damp embrace. Tobin had never taken a liking for plants, but because they belong to Zack he had made an exception. He found he actually enjoyed the hacker's company. Zack was a quiet and pensive man, and after a talk with Punish he needed to find a source of entertainment; Zack with his many quirks was perfect.

"Zack!" he called, his voice becoming innocent and energetic, turning into the ideal persona of 'Tobin'.

There was no answer.

"Zack?" He tried again, walking carefully down the center of the plant incrusted room.

"In here."

Tobin peaked his masked head around the divider, only to find the hacker not sitting in his usually chair. Instead, Zack was standing, putting his computer monitor to sleep, and preparing to leave.

"Where are you going?" Tobin asked, sounding deeply upset.

"I have to meet, Irwin and Keith." Zack replied, taking a jacket off one of the hooks on the divider. "They're arriving tonight… **and they brought some interesting baggage back with them.**"

In the dim light of the room, Tobin could see the hacker licking his duel colored lips hungrily. By the sound of things, the pair had brought back a body, or at least part of one for Zack. It was probably another test subject of Irwin's, or perhaps Keith had felt the need to have a good fight. Whatever the reason, they had decided to throw a bit of it Zack's way. It was the New Skin, giving him the cannibalistic urge; it was another one of Zack's many peculiarities.

Depending on the size of the meal, Zack would probably be out for a while. Tobin gave a sigh, there went his evening plans. However, it would do the hacker good to be out and about. Unless Punish, secretly being directed by Tobin himself, ordered Zack to do so, the man hardly left his muggy living sanctuary.

The hacker seemed comforted hiding in cyberspace, but Tobin thought it was a bit unhealthy. He often ordered Punish to send Zack on odd jobs regularly, simply out of concern for the hacker's sanity. Zack was one of the last of his kind, losing him to the allure of the cybernetic world, or too his living room was a bit of a worry for Dawn. Tobin was always looking out of the good of his organization after all. Though, perhaps he did dote on the hacker, if only a little.

"Will Zack be back soon?" Tobin asked, bringing his voice to a false tenor, hiding in his created guise.

"**Why the hell do you care?" **The hacker snapped, but Tobin was used to Zack's ever changing emotions by now. "I don't know might be a while."

Zack gave a shrug, hunching slightly in his coat. The hacker always seemed to crouch a little. It gave the impression that he was either constantly ready to attack, or he was trying to curl up, protect himself as he left his green shelter. Tobin thought it was a little of both.

"Be good while I'm gone…**Don't touch anything.**" And with that, the hacker walked away between the rows of plants, and left the room closing the door tightly behind him. Tobin watched him leave, somewhat disappointed.

He didn't heed Zack; instead he took up residence in the hacker's empty, but still warm chair. Within moments Tobin had the computer up and running; easily he took over the ever watchful security monitors. Tobin was far more intelligent than the other members gave him credit for; after all he controlled every single one of them without showing his true self while working amongst them simultaneously, a hidden genius.

He looked up at the monitors; on one he could see the newly arrived pair standing in the alleyway, they were easy enough to make out on the grainy screen. The raven-haired man stood straight with perfect posture, alert and apparently waiting for Zack's arrival; they wouldn't take the body into the building. His taller partner was leaning casually against the brick wall; most of his features obscured by shadows, yet Tobin could see the gleaming outline of the man's shark-like serrated smile. A large bag was lying on the ground beside the taller man, obviously the "baggage".

Irwin Ulysses and Keith Henderson, both valued members of Dawn. In the scheme of things they were pawns, everyone single operative of Dawn was. Each had been acquired, either by force or simply given an offer they couldn't refuse. Dawn was the beginning of a new day, for Tobin it was revenge. However, world conquest played an important role as well.

His single eye fell onto the other screen and he watched the fuzzy distant outlines of Demetrius and Hidan. He gave a low hum as he observed the two, musing silently to himself about the fate of the immortal. Hidan was an oddity, even among a group of outcasts and criminals such as themselves. It would be interesting to see how his time at Dawn unfolded.

--

He'd been in the city that surrounded the base before, but Hidan had never really ventured very far into the bizarre metropolis. He remembered his first time outside; his eyes had shot up and his jaw had dropped instantly, gawking at the insanely tall building and blinding bright lights.

He'd since grown used to the structures that scrapped the sky, the people on the other hand he still couldn't stand; there was simply too many of them. Hidan always looked at the throng with mild disgust as they milled about like a herd of cattle. Every one of them in a hurry, all of them lost in their own world, not giving a shit if the bumped into or stepped on you.

He followed the small blond, knowing that this unprompted celebration was just an excuse to leave base. Demetrius was very free spirited and hated being locked indoors. The artist was just dragging Hidan along, knowing that the immortal wouldn't fuss about it; Hidan found Sunrise Inn dull too.

At one point of time, Hidan would have toyed with the idea of running off, however now the idea held little to no temptation. Although, he was more or less on pleasant terms with Demetrius, the blond would drag his ass back to base without a second thought and Hidan knew it. This wasn't to say he was frightened of the little shrimp, not one damn bit, he just didn't feel like getting shit from Leader, or getting blown up for that matter.

So Hidan trailed behind Demetrius as the blond walked down street after street, alleyway after alleyway seemingly at random. Each path took them further from the noisy crowds and into an eerily silent part of the urban jungle.

"Almost zere, un." Demetrius spoke, as he turned around the corner of a dingy brick shop.

The river wasn't at all like Hidan had anticipated it would be. It looked like a steel-gray serpent as it flowing sluggishly past solid concrete banks. Even from here he could see debris and rubbish bobbing along in the slow moving currant. It was a river of moving trash. Hidan wondered absently what all lay submerged in the disgusting water, he grimaced at the thought.

Demetrius didn't seem at all detoured by the polluted ill-looking river, instead he walked right to were the high concrete banks began. He sat on the down on the ledge, his legs dangling over the edge. Hidan followed the artist's example and sat a little ways from him, eyeing the steep downward slope the slabs of concrete formed, it would be absolutely revolting if he were to take a tumble down it.

The blond began to dig through his bag, bringing out a dozen or so empty plastic bottles, what appeared to be a bag of crushed white power, and lastly a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Hidan watched Demetrius as he pulled all of this out of his small canvas bag and wondered how in the hell he'd managed to fill all that in. Demetrius caught him staring.

"It's going zu be a bomb, I'm making-"

"Art." Hidan finished the artist's sentence with him, and then paused realizing what he'd just said.

"Oui, zat es right." Demetrius said, giving the immortal a strange look. Never before had any of the other members shared his artistic vision, nor had they even been able to guess that Demetrius believed that an explosion was the greatest beauty of all. He'd always had to tell them.

An uncomfortable silence fell, so to busy himself, the artist took one of the empty containers and began to fill it with the white powder. Once the bottom was coated, he unscrewed the rubbing alcohol and began to pour it into the neck of the bottle. Quickly, he twisted the cap on the container holding the mixture; an excited glint formed in Demetrius's visible blue eye.

"You 'ave zu shake it quick, zen toss it before it goes off, un." Demetrius explained, giving the bottle a quick shake before lobbing it at the river.

They both watched the arch the bottle made as it descended through the air, before colliding with a sizable floating hunk of what appeared to be plywood. It exploded on impact, the collision causing it to go off a tad bit prematurely, but the detonation had had a nice pop to it. The young blond have a small grin of excitement, lost in the very small display of fleeting beauty. Hidan was less then thrilled.

"That's it?" He asked, not at all awed by the little bomb.

" 'Ere you try." Demetrius said and thrust an empty bottle into the immortal's hand, ignoring the comment.

So, Hidan began to do exactly what the blond had done moments before. He wasn't particularly engrossed or even minutely impressed with this, but it was better than being stuck at base. He began to pour some of the white powder in and turned his nose away at the strong smell.

"What is this shit?" He asked, quickly feeding it into the bottle.

"Crushed chlorine."

Within moments, Hidan finished creating the little bomb; he tossed it at the floating plywood. Unlike the first, it didn't explode on impact, instead rolled down the plywood, almost entering the water before it went off. The sound wasn't as loud as the first. He hadn't screwed the cap on properly, so the chemical reaction going on inside the bottle hadn't amounted too much.

"That's pretty wimpy." Hidan muttered.

The artist nodded in agreement. "Oui, but Maître and ze others won't let me set anyting bigger off wit'out reason, un."

Hidan sneered. "Screw them, its not like anyone is gonna find you out here." The immortal had never been a very good influence. "You're the one who blew up my cell door, right? What don't you use one of those shits?"

By the look on Demetrius's face, Hidan could tell the young bomber was seriously considering his suggestion. The blond fidgeted slightly, shifting his weight so he could reach into his pocket.

Demetrius never went anywhere without one of his lager and more deadly creations on him. Not only because it could become in handy in a pinch, but he felt comforted by the explosives, knowing that true art was only seconds away. Rummaging through his pocket, he pulled out one of the small explosives.

"Et es not like one will 'urt, right?" A devious grin graced the artist's lips.

"Nope." Hidan replied, smiled back a little, but failed to put any true emotion into the gesture.

As Demetrius went about arming the little bomb, Hidan's eyes shifted to over look the river of waste. Hidan felt very out of placed beside the young bomber, he didn't belong here.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd met the young bomber before though. Demetrius felt so unforgettable, the uncanny resemblance of another. The other's face was very dim; it danced on the edge of his memory, threatening to fall into the black abyss of forgetfulness forever. Hidan couldn't for the life of him remember who Demetrius reminded him of.

Everything about the artist was familiar, his eye, his hair, his beliefs, and his mannerisms, everything except for one small detail; his hands. The perfectly smooth palms of Demetrius weren't right. Hidan didn't know why, but he expected the artist's hands to be different somehow.

The loud bang pulled Hidan from his thoughts. He looked down at the discolored water, the garbage was now aflame; the explosion had taken out the plywood and all the other floating junk around it; defiantly far more impressive than the chlorine bombs.

"Beautiful, oui?" Demetrius asked, as he admired the devastation.

"Sure." Hidan shrugged, his mind was other matters. "Hey Demetrius?"

"Un?" The artist still sounded a bit dreamy, his bright blue eye was locked on the flames.

"Your Maître, he uh…does he ever come out of that fucking shell?"

This got the bomber's attention; he turned to look at the immortal. " 'Ow did you know es was a shell, did Zack tell you?"

"No, I just…knew." Hidan sighed heavily "Like, I don't know Dude, I just know things…"

The blond snickered and leaded back, he looked toward the sky. "Don't get all philosophical 'Idan, you'll 'urt yourself. Besides, et es not zat 'ard zu come zu dat realization, un."

Hidan glared daggers at the young blond, smarting from the insult. The artist didn't believe him. "Oh yeah, fine I'll fucking prove it!" He challenged, and he said the first thing that came to mind. "Your one eye, it's not real, it's mechanical."

Hidan didn't have the slightest idea how he knew that information. However, as blond's head suddenly turned to stare at him, the look on Demetrius's face was all Hidan needed to know that it was the truth he'd spoke. The single blue eye stared at him with deep surprise.

"Who told you zat?" It wasn't quite a demand, but there was a hard edge in the blond's voice.

"No one, like I just fucking said I just know this shit." Hidan didn't speak out of anger, merely confusion. "I don't know why, but…" He stared down into the murky water, trying to lay out his words. He looked hard into the water, gazing at two green circles floating on the surface; probably more trash. "I just feel like…I've done all this shit before.."

Admitting this left Hidan feeling very deflated, he just couldn't keep it in any longer. The young bomber beside him hadn't the slightest clue how this felt, and Hidan had a hunch that this annoying feeling wouldn't dissipate anytime soon. This was the very thing that held him to Dawn; he wanted to know why he felt he knew them all, and why he felt so alienated from them at the same instant.

"Déjà vu." The artist spoke up suddenly.

"What?"

"Déjà vu, et es, 'ow you say…the feeling of 'aveing experienced someting before, un."

Hidan thought over what the young man said and gave a small nod. "Yeah, that's exactly what it fucking feels like."

Both stopped talking, and let the silence take over. Demetrius watched the last of the junk burn out and sink, leaving behind a terrible odor of burnt plastic and sulfur. The immortal stared questioningly at the water as well, but he wasn't looking at the burning trash, he was gazing at something else in the gray water very fixedly. His magenta eyes didn't look away from that spot on the muddy water's surface he'd been staring at earlier.

Demetrius gave a sigh, looking up at the darkening sky. "We should go back, un."

The blond collected his things into the canvas bag. He stood, noticing that Hidan hadn't taken his lead; the immortal was still looking at the water intently.

" 'Idan, you coming?"

"Just a sec," Hidan said and pointed at the water, exactly where he had been ogling. "Do you see that?"

"See w'at?" The artist asked, following Hidan's finger.

"That." The immortal said firmly, eyes not wavering from the surface.

Demetrius looked at him skeptically. He knew Hidan crazy, but the immortal was acting far more eccentric than he usually did. To humor Hidan, Demetrius gazed at the murky water; he saw nothing but trash and pollution.

"I don't see anyting 'Idan," The blond sighed. "Let's just go, un."

For a moment Hidan didn't move, he narrowed his eyes at the gloomy muck and Demetrius wondered what in the world the immortal was seeing. Cursing under his breath, Hidan slowly got to his feet. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he stormed away.

"Whatever, let's just fucking go." He spat irritably and began walking away quickly, leaving a very confused Demetrius in his wake.

On the deluded cloudy water, the two green orbs dimmed and faded away. Fleeing like wisps of smoke into the dark surface, becoming nothing more than a shadowy memory. Hidan had seen them though; he had watched the wavering spots of color and they had watched him in return. They were like two living jade coals, but were as illusory and surreal as his dreams and had done nothing more than gaze at him.

'_Who the fuck are you?'_


	16. Chapter 15: Matchmaker

**Author's note**: Alright, well, the short of it is this, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in while. Please forgive me for slacking and for any mistakes. Thank You reviewers and readers for waiting, enjoy the chapter.

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**Chapter 15: **Matchmaker

He lounged on the artist's bed, watching as the young man bustled about the room. Reaching a hand out, Hidan nabbed a spare work of art off Demetrius's night table. Flipping it over in his hand, he inspected it out of boredom.

"So, what?" Hidan asked, tossing a clay sculpture into the air carelessly and easily catching it. "You're leaving?"

The young artist shrugged as he packed away his many supplies in the depths of his bag. Hidan had watched him stuff sculpture after sculpture and bomb after bomb into the canvas sack. Despite how unkempt Demetrius's half room was, the young man could pack with tidy, if not fussy organization.

"Oui, et es zime Maître and I went back zu working outside ze Inn." He said and looked over at Hidan, only to see the immortal flinging one of his clay bombs unceremoniously about. Demetrius's blue eye widened furiously. "Idiot! If you drop zat Maître will kill me!"

He snatched the sculpture away before Hidan could do it any harm. If it crashed onto the ground the whole room, not to mention all of his Maître's unfinished mechanical works of art, would be blown to bits. Oddly enough though, Demetrius didn't seem as concerned about the fact that they too would be in smithereens.

Hidan snorted. "Tch, whatever." And he leaned back on the artist's bed, folding his arms under his head.

Ever since their expedition two days ago he'd spent more time with Demetrius then usual. The artist had felt compelled to culture the immortal, since Hidan had apparently shown more interest in Demetrius's views of art than anyone else. Hidan tuned out the artist a good deal of the time, but it was nice to hear someone besides himself talking, even if he really wasn't paying attention to them. It was simply pleasant to hear a voice, regardless if all Demetrius did was prattle on about ideals Hidan found dull and mind-numbing.

"So, where ya go'n?"

"Zat I don't know, Leader will tell Maître and I soon enough, un."

The immortal heaved a sigh. "Do you have any idea how fucking boring it's going to be around here now, seriously?"

Demetrius let a small sarcastic chuckle escape him. "I didn't know you cared 'Idan. Besides, I doubt you'll be zat bored, you'll be on ze move soon enough zu."

This caught the immortal's attention. Propping his head up with and fist, he looked at the artist curiously. "Wha'd ya mean?"

Demetrius gave a little shrug, a tiny smirk curling along his thin lips like ribbon. Hidan noticed the artist did this a lot; it was Demetrius's way of saying 'I know more than you do'.

"Oh, didn't Zack tell you, un?"

"No, as a matter-of-fact he fucking didn't," Hidan glowed; he hated the artist's smug game. "Spill it Blondie."

"Humph." He snorted indignantly. "You're colleague zu be is on 'is way." Demetrius answered, shooting the immortal an offended glare. "In fact, zat es partly ze reason Maître and I are leaving, I don't 'ave zu baby-sit you any longer, un."

"Oh, fuck you." Hidan grumbled sourly, and flopped back on the mattress, glaring up at the ceiling. However, Hidan couldn't help but feel excited about the prospect of a partner.

The artist merely rolled his eye and went back to his packing.

---

Sunrise Inn. It looked the same as when he'd left.

The building was situated between parallel structures on either side, almost like an egg in a nest. It looked unassuming, innocent even, but he knew what really went on behind the camouflaged exterior.

How long had he been away? Most likely only a few months, just long enough to dispose of his former partner. Then he did hodgepodge bounty missions until Leader got his act together and found him another tagalong, this was their routine. The missions not only kept him busy, but gave him lodging away from the Inn. Rarely was he ever stationed at Sunrise for long periods of time.

Because of his temper and distant attitude, he didn't cope well with the other collogues and quarrels frequently broke out. This was also this same reason he wasn't assigned to deal with new members often. Although he had some restraint when interacting with the older member of Dawn, he viewed the new ones, trainees especially, as disposable. Thus, Leader kept him on the move, allowing him a long leash.

When Leader would give up? Although Leader's determination to find him a fitting partner was admirable, it was also very irritating. Obviously, anyone paired with him would die, by the enemy's hand or his own. There was no point in finding new ones; it was less costly for him to operate on his own anyway. Morbidly, he wondered how long the new one would last.

He entered by the front door, walking briskly in to the circular lobby. Korina, who was manning her receptions desk, looked at him impassively before returning her attention to the sharply dress businessman she was waiting on. He walked toward the desk.

"Here's you key, room 207." Korina spoke, handing the man a little plastic card. "Please take the hall to your right." And she motioned toward the correct hallway.

"Thank you."

"Uh-huh." Korina nodded.

The man turned quickly, too quickly, he nearly ran into him. Anger crossed the businessman's features briefly, before he looked up that is. The man's neck had to inclined nearly all they way to take in his intimidating height. He made no move, only gazed down at the blanching businessman unflinchingly. If looks could kill.

"Uh, s-sorry buddy!" The man spoke voice cracking.

He didn't speak a word, only glared at businessman with his oddly inverted eyes. The startled man walked off hurriedly, fleeing to the safely of his room. He felt no guilt for frightening the unsuspecting man; everyone seemed to be alarmed when in his presence.

Korina sighed and leaned and elbow on the counter. "You know, it's a good thing you're not the receptionist Kazmer, you'd scare everyone away."

"Hello to you too Korina." Sarcasm tinted his voice.

She gave a small laugh, although it could have been a very small hiccup. "About time you showed up," Korina murmured, raising her hand delicately to admire her nails, inspecting for any chips in the polish. "Leader's not happy with you."

Kazmer gave a shrug and rested his briefcase on top of the desk. "Well, I have something that might ease his mood."

"Another bounty then?" She asked looking at the case indifferently, and received a nod. "He's not upset about money, and you know it. What you need to do is to stop killing them."

Even beneath his cloth mask, which was a simple black bandanna, Korina could tell Kazmer was frowning; she could see it in his eyes. They always seemed to have this discussion. She was Punish's shoulder, the one he confided in. Therefore, she knew a lot more about all the social disruptions, money problems, and secrets of the organization than she let on. After all, Korina was his angel. She was entitled to know.

She knew when Punish was upset, always. For his welfare, she tried from time to time to smooth over matters with the troublesome members. Kazmer however, was the least willing to listen; it was his seniority that made him so unwilling to heed anyone else's opinion.

"I can work on my own Korina, he knows that." Kazmer spoke fatly.

"Teams of two make the percentage of success higher." Korina tilted forward a little; a knowing spark lit her gaze. "He'd found an interesting one; I think it's about time you met your match. This guy is different. "

Kazmer was unimpressed. "Should I just kill the poor bastard now and be done with it?"

"Actually, I hear he's pretty hard to kill."

"I like a challenge." Kazmer said and lifted his case off the desk. "What's this one like?"

Korina paused, choosing her words carefully. "He's a real trip."

Kazmer gave her a questioning glace, but nothing more. After all he would have to witness his new partner in person before he could even begin to understand. He turned away and strode off down the left hallway heading for Leader's chamber.

Korina watched him go and smiled faintly to herself, hoping that Hidan truly was capable of dealing with Kazmer. This was not for the immortal's sake but for Punish's, he was running himself ragged looking for new members to replace the ones Kazmer murdered in cold blood. While he believed himself to be a god, Punish did have mortal limitations. A guardian angel can only do so much. Giving a delicate sighed, Korina returned to inspecting her blue nail polish.

---

The door to the room unlock suddenly. Both Demetrius and Hidan's eyes traveled with the entrance as it swung open quickly, revealing Soren's rounded frame standing in the hallway. He maneuvered his curved casing past the doorway in a slow awkward shuffle. Hidan couldn't help but wonder why Soren insisted on wearing that thing if it made it so difficult to move.

"Demetrius." Soren's gruff voice spilled out the shell, commanding attention. "Tobin stopped me in the hallvay; Zack vishes to see you, something about clay…"

"Oh! Right!" The blond instantly perked up. "Zat shipment came in zuday!"

After mumbling a few quick words of parting, Demetrius dashed off, after squeezing by Soren, and went quickly down the hall. Hidan didn't watch the young artist disappear; instead he focused onto the hulking semi-circle that was Soren.

The puppeteer was staring at the immortal reclining on the blonde's bed. It was difficult to tell whether or not Soren was glaring at him, the lifeless eyes gave nothing away. Hidan arched a silver brow at him questioningly.

"What cha' staring at?" Hidan asked with a cocky smile on his lips. Maybe Soren wasn't happy that he was here, in his room with Demetrius; Hidan's smile grew.

A deep sigh rattled through the puppeteer's hull. "Look, Hidan. I don't do this sort of thing often, don't get used to it…" again Soren heaved another agitated sigh, as if he were very uncomfortable. "I have something for you."

Hidan blinked, had he heard the puppeteer correctly? Apparently so. A series of clicks and snaps followed, and the fabric covering the rounded shell slipped off a fraction, revealing some of the rounded body. The outer casing was made of steel or something similar; patterns were intricately carved over the glossy shell. Obviously, a lot of time and devotion had gone into making this moving shield.

A small hatch cracked open and a pale, smooth, luminous hand came out. What the hand was clutching Hidan was unsure, but the object was soon dropped onto the ground, lying just beside the puppeteer's shield. Soren withdrew his hand quickly, the hatch closing behind it. Hidan was oblivious to the fact that he was one of the few to ever see apart of the actual Soren.

The black cloth drew back over, pulled by some invisible force, and covered the beautifully carved side once more. Soren didn't move after that, and Hidan, who had since sat up to watch the spectacle, realized that he was going to have to pick up the object for himself.

Getting up, he moved toward the present on the ground with unhurried movements, trying to make it appear as though he wasn't interested. However, as Hidan came closer his jaw opened in surprise. He knelt quickly, taking the trinket into his hands. He trailed his fingers over the black beads and the polished symbol attached to it.

It was a rosary.

A rosary of Jashin.

"Wha…I-" For once, Hidan was at a loss for words, he was deeply confused. "Why?" He managed to say after a moment, eyes switching between the rosary in his hands, and the puppeteer beside him.

"You know, I do listen to Demetrius from time to time, he talks about you…you give him something to do." Soren's voice grumbled. "He says you talk about something named Jashin…" Soren paused and spoke irritably, realizing he was rambling. "To sum it up, thanks, I guess."

Hidan looked at him, getting to his feet he walked over and sat on the edge of the young artist's bed. "Seroiusly? Aw, that's touching…" His voice took a mocking tone, face taking on a smug look. "All the kid does is talk, I mean-"

"You listen to him right?" Soren cut him off. "He shares his passion about art vith you, ja?"

"…Uh, I guess. The kid just keeps talking; I mean there's no way to shut him up, seriously." Hidan spoke, already beginning to forget Soren's interjection.

"Good." Soren said simply, and Hidan didn't understand, didn't realize that Soren was thanking him for being good and active company for Demetrius. No one else understood or cared about the young artist's views; they only used him for their own personal gain or belittled him for it. Hidan had done what Soren couldn't, accepted or at least had heard out Demetrius's ideas.

For a few short days, Soren had seen the young blonde actually content. Demetrius didn't bother him with trivial ideals or silly bombs. However, he did share with Soren where he had traveled with the immortal and sometimes what they had talked about. That's where the puppeteer had gotten the idea to make a rosary, modeling it after the strange symbols he'd seen on Hidna's walls and floor. He had no idea he was replacing something that had been long lost centuries ago.

"You like it?" Soren asked at last, watching the immortal's expression.

"Yeah, it's…it feels so, familiar." Hidan shook his head in disbelief, and smiled. "It's pretty kick ass, thanks." And he placed rosary around his neck.

"You'll keep it with you den?"

"Yeah."

"Forever?" Soren pressed.

"Sure."

Within his shell, the puppeteer smiled victoriously. Although the rosary was a present, everything Soren did had an ulterior motive. The little metal symbol hung so innocently around the immortal's neck; it had almost been too easy.

"I'm glad." The puppeteer spoke truthfully. Turning his shell, Soren began to shuffle toward the door. "Come, originally Leader sent me to collect you. Your partner has arrived."

---

"Leader." Kazmer spoke, acknowledging the man as the entered into his chamber.

Behind the finely varnished desk there sat a man, but only his outline could be seen. The window's blinds were closed, always closed. The small amount of light that trickled in to the gloomy room highlighted only Leader's shape, never his features. He remained a dark blank sketch of a man, more of a cutout than an actual person.

"Kazmer." For once, Leader's voice was an even undistorted tenor. He wasn't hiding behind his technology, only the dark. "I assume your trip here went smoothly?"

"Yes."

"Good," There was a smile in the man's voice. "Your partner was alerted. He should be here momentary."

The silhouetted figure motioned to the chair resting off to the side. Taking the hint, Kazmer seated himself. Placing the briefcase down beside him, he fixed Leader with a steely gaze, eyes daring the man to touch the subject that lay between them. Leader took the bait.

"So," The shadow spoke, knitting his hands together and resting his chin on them. "Why this time? What was Kalb's fatal flaw?"

Kazmer shrugged in response. The way he viewed it, his old partner's death hadn't been his fault. No, the idiot had merely gotten in the way. The fool should have known better than to stand between Kazmer and a bounty.

"He wasn't…durable enough." Kazmer spoke and it was more or less the honest truth, the bullets had gone right through the man.

Leader hummed quietly. "Shame, he had such promise."

Kazmer scuffed at that. They both knew being partnered with him was a death sentence; the moment Kalb had been paired with him, the man became little more than a walking corpse.

"However, I don't think that will be much of a setback any more." Leader chimed in, sounding oddly pleased.

At that, Kazmer raised a questioning brow. Something was defiantly up. Never before had Leader, or Korina for that matter, seemed so confident in his new victim to be. Obviously, this new partner was someone extraordinary, something the likes of which he had never experienced before. Kazmer frowned beneath his mask; an unsettling feeling came over him. Just what had Leader discovered?

"Really now?" Kazmer asked flatly.

"Oh yes," Even in the dark, Kazmer swore he could faintly see the smile on the man's face. "I think you'll be quite surprised."

"I wouldn't count on it." Kazmer's words were dry and very unimpressed, but the shadowy matchmaker only smiled softly in the darkness.

---

Hidan was surprised. He'd never witnessed the puppeteer really moving before and found that Soren could actually travel fairly fast. Despite how wide, heavy, and cumbersome his shell was, it moved pretty quickly, as long as there weren't any sharp turns. However, because Soren took up so much space, Hidan had to trail behind him.

He really wasn't paying much attention. Hidan wasn't focusing, he ignored the blending colors of the pink and green wallpapered hallway; it all went by in a haze. He just followed the black moving semi-circle absently. This is why he nearly walked into the puppeteer; he didn't notice Soren had stopped moving.

"Hey!" Hidan cried, stumbling to keep himself from falling. "What gives?!"

Hidan glared daggers at the puppeteer's back, but Soren ignored him, his attention was focused to the two men in front of them. Hidan's gaze shifted, fixing to glower at the strange pair obstructing their path.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, eh?" A strange voice rasped before it was distorted with rough throaty chuckles.

Disgust curled at Hidan's lip. It had been that taller of that two that had spoken, and he looked like something that had crawled straight out of a horror film. The man's beady eyes gleamed with a twisted delight, but Hidan stared the large grinning mouth. Jagged, almost razor-like teeth protruded from the man's gums, giving him a startlingly animalistic appearance.

"The fuck are you?" Hidan spat, looking the man up and down.

The serrated smile widened. "Quite a mouth you go there."

A snort escaped Hidan. "Could say the same 'bout you."

For a moment, Hidan seriously thought he'd offended the man; he even smirked at the prospect. However, laugher began to trickle from the sharp toothed man. It was a coarse, but infections sound that grew in volume.

"Hey, I like you Mate." The man grinned, leaving Hidan completely dumbfounded. "What do you think Irvin? We've got ourselves a fun one here eh?"

The smaller man, who Hidan had nearly forgotten about until now, said nothing in response. Thin and elegant, Irvin looked to be the polar opposite of his partner. His blank face remained unmoving, or at least the parts that Hidan could see. A pair of sunglasses concealed the young man's eyes. The red tint was such a dark crimson; Hidan could see the reflection of the hallway in the lenses. He gazed at the two of them, beauty and the beast so it seemed.

"Keith," Soren spoke up, voice acidic and low. "Move out of the vay…you're going to make us late."

The sharp grin faltered and the beastly man, who was apparently Keith, looked down at the puppeteer. For a moment, Hidan had absolutely no idea what was happening, but a hush fell over them. He watched as Soren craned his shield's neck up, while Keith's beady eyes narrowed downward. No one moved, frozen to the spot it seemed.

"What?" Keith asked. "Afraid waiting a few minutes is going to get your knickers in a knot?" A different sort of smile carved across the man's face.

"Move." Soren commanded. There was an edge of finality in his tone.

Oh, so it was a challenge then. Hidan understood now, and watched the two with faint amusement. Keith's teeth clicked together, ailing and locking into place, that mad grin of his splitting his face nearly in two. Hidan smirked along with him. There was something he liked in that grotesque mug. It was wild and boundless, utterly memorable and charmingly ugly. Although Hidan felt nothing towards the man, he knew instinctively that Keith was a fighter; one that would tear a person limb from limb and enjoy every moment of it.

At any second the fissure would happen. Surely the tension would break, and it did, but not in the way Hidan would have liked. Breaking his silence, the raven-haired Irvin spoke.

"Let's go, Keith."

The tall man blinked in surprise. For a moment he seemed about to rebel against the cool voice, but like a dog on a leash, heeled. Keith's posture slouched as he sighed. "Yeah, sure…"

Leading the way, Irvin squeezed past them gracefully with Keith in tow. The man mumbled darkly under his breath as he passed, and Hidan began to snicker. With the pressure gone, there was only amusement left.

"Dude, that was weak!" Hidan called back to the sulking beast.

A fair distance away now, Keith turned his head to glare at Hidan. The beady, yellowed eyes gleamed with malice. A lesser man would have been stricken on the spot, but Hidan only sneered in response, clearly he had no sense of self-preservation.

"Ah, don't worry Mate, you'll get yours soon enough." With that said Keith turned back around and followed after his partner, leaving Hidan with a very confused look on his face.

"The hell does that mean?" He asked aloud to no on in particular.

Shrugging off Keith's words, Hidan turned back around. He blinked as he saw the shrinking black cloaked back shuffling down the hallway. Feed up with waiting, Soren had left him. Swearing loudly, Hidan took off after the puppeteer.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hidan called. "Wait up!"

"Valk faster." Soren called back dryly.

Giving a growl of annoyance, he quickened his pace. Swift strides brought Hidan to his place behind the shuffling puppeteer. "Gee, thanks for waiting." He spat sarcastically.

"Hn," Soren gave a noncommittal murmur.

"Dude, who were those guys anyway?" Hidan ask, looking over his shoulder at the empty hallway.

"Irvin Ulysses and Keith Henderson," The puppeteer answered monotonously. "Members and partners of Dawn."

Hidan snorted. "That one dude is a fucking freak, seriously."

"Speak for yourself."

Soren slowed his shuffling as he came to Leader's hidden door. He shifted off to the side, allowing Hidan full access to the entrance. The dead glassy eyes stared up at Hidan expectantly, apparently waiting for him to unlock it. Rolling his eyes, the immortal dug through several of his pockets; he was forever losing the stupid plastic key. After fumbling around with it, he finally managed to insert the card into the slit in the wall.

"Wait." Soren ordered, stopping the immortal before he could open it. "Vhen you go in dere, don't do anything stupid."

Hidan scuffed at the hunchback, brushing off the remark. "Dude, I'm not going to make a fool out of myself, seriously." Giving the door a shove with his shoulder, he pushed it open. "You need to give me more credit."

His know-it-all smirk beamed down at the glaring puppeteer. For the briefest of moments, Hidan felt something akin to contentment. Here he was, thrown in to some upside-down world, and yet, for some strange reason he was beginning to believe things were going to turn out alright. The world was stabilizing. His roots to this life were beginning to strengthen.

There was Demetrius; he could talk to the younger man. He could pester Soren; the puppeteer always became so flustered when disturbed from his work. There was also Jashin, the symbol strung around his neck was now a constant reminder of that. Yes, Jashin was with him for eternity, there was no need to doubt that. Best of all, he was finally getting at partner. He could leave this dump at last! No longer was he bound to his sad little room. Without a second thought, Hidan entered into the dark chamber.

"Ah, good. You're here." The smooth voice of Leader spoke, and Hidan turned toward the sound. He shut the door behind him, leaving the puppeteer out in the hall.

To his surprise, Hidan found that within the dark, gloomy room Leader was actually with them in person. He'd never seen the man before and this time was no exception. The din shrouded Leader, wrapping about his frame like a cloak of inky blackness.

"Yeah yeah." Hidan said, swaggering as he stepped toward the desk. "So where is this partner? I swear if I have to wait for this dumbass I-"

"He's sitting right in front of you." Leader's mellow voice answered.

"Huh?" The immortal grunted, eyes scanning for another silhouette

His gaze came to rest on the chair positioned off to the side of the room, not too far from Leader's desk. A toothy smirk flashed across Hidan's face as he spied a large figure sitting in it. So this was it, this was his bran spanking new partner. From here on out, things were going to be so much simpler, so much clearer! Everything was going to be alright.

Then his new partner looked up. With one gesture, all of Hidan's optimism vanished.

The seated man looked at him. No, glared at him. Hidan's smile fell instantly. The man's eyes were green; a bright, piercing, all too memorable green. The gloom seemed to come alive as Hidan's mind went haywire and began to create illusions. The chimera of reality reared its false and translucent head, dragging Hidan's senses into overdrive.

The room appeared to warp and bend. It twisted, bring the very darkness to wrap about the seated stranger. Trappings of midnight and crimson adorned the green eyed man, red clouds of morning coming out of nothingness. The colors of the dawning day began to envelop the man. Reality was being painted over by a diaphanous world, one that was growing in density and clarity every passing moment; as out of place as a nightmare in daylight, yet it was happening before his eyes all the same.

The floor began to stir and coil, as did the walls and ceiling. It dawned on Hidan that the room itself wasn't truly moving, but something covering it was. This realization caused the hundreds upon thousands of thin strings to come into vision. These were the things starting to coat the inside of the chamber. They withered and wrangled like black snakes. He saw them now, millions of threads creating a moving tapestry. It engulfed him.

Hidan felt his throat constrict, the air crushed from his lungs. He began to choke. His eyes stared at the green orbs that glowed amidst all the spiraling chaos, two brilliant embers of jade burning in the madness of the room. Hidan moved his lips, but the air wouldn't come. Only a small croaking sound came.

'_Hidan.'_

That voice. That damn voice!

K…K…K-Ka….KA!

The world, figments and all, fell away as Hidan toppled backwards. His eyes rolled until only the whites of them could be seen. Unconsciousness took him before he crashed onto the carpeted floor of Leader's chamber.


End file.
